Unidentified Girl: Nue
by Game2002
Summary: Nue and Mamizou go to the outside world to have fun. What was supposed to be a fun trip turned out rather unpleasant when Nue got too curious while visiting a certain place... Second story of the "build-up series".
1. One Fun Day Gone to Pass

A snowman with mouse ears…

Only a mouse or a mouse fanatic would build a snowman with mouse ears.

"Not bad!" commented Shou when she saw Nazrin's handiwork.

"It's nothing special," the mouse demon said with a somewhat dull expression. "It's just a snowman with mouse ears, and the amount it takes to build one is more or less the same as a normal snowman. The only extra amount of work goes to the ears, and even that took barely any effort…"

"Still, it's cute and nice to look at!" Shou commented.

"Thanks, I guess…" Nazrin said. "By the way, I thought you were practicing using your spear just now. How's progress coming along?"

"Well, um… Getting better at it, I think… I'm taking a break now," the tiger demon replied. "I'm still not good at it, though… Trying to learn how to use it is harder than I thought…"

"Practice makes perfect," Nazrin told her while giving her snowman the finishing touch by putting extra snow onto it. "Spears are supposed to be very easy to use. Why else do you think guards use spears as their weapons of choice?"

"Is that so? Then I'm even less worthy than a guard… Now I feel ashamed of being Master Hijiri's follower…" Shou said in depression. "Minamitsu has monstrous strength and can swing around her anchor like it's made of paper, you're skilled at fighting with your dowsing rods, and Ichirin knows the art of punching…"

"It's called boxing," Nazrin corrected her. "Plus, you're not the only one among us who has no skills in close range combat. Nue and Mamizou are bad at that as well. And let's not forget that Kyouko needs protection most of the time when there's danger, even though her shouting is a quite a weapon to behold…"

"Speaking of Nue and Mamizou, I haven't seen them at all today yet," Shou said. "Where'd they go?"

"You don't know yet?" Nazrin asked without turning her head away from the snowman. "They're going to the outside world to spend the winter."

"What?! They're going to the outside world?!" Shou said in surprise. "Does Master Hijiri know about this?"

"You're probably the only one here who doesn't know this yet…" Nazrin told her.

"Um… I woke up late today, so you can't blame me…" Shou told her. "How are they going there?"

"Other than asking that Yakumo demon for help, I can't think of any other of way for them to go to the outside world," Nazrin said.

"And Master Hijiri approved of this?" Shou asked. "There's no way she would…"

"She said yes right away," interrupted Nazrin, "and she told them to bring back souvenirs as well."

"Well, she sure agreed to it really easily…" Shou commented. "Did they say when they're coming back?"

"They said the longest they'll be gone is until the end of this month, that's all," Nazrin said as she dusted her hands after finishing up her snowman.

"Never thought they would decide to go to the outside world…" Shou said. "I wonder what made them decide on that…"

"All they said is that they want to experience something new this Christmas," Nazrin said.

"Well, then I hope them a fun time out there," Shou said.

* * *

Somewhere in the streets of Tokyo, a pair of pigeons flew into an alleyway. After making sure that there was no one in the alley and that no one at the sidewalk was looking inside, one of the pigeons transformed into Mamizou, while the other became distorted and then changed into Nue.

"I can't believe we're in the outside world! In Tokyo!" Nue excitedly said. "This is the first time I'm in the capital of Japan!"

"I came here a few times before," Mamizou told her. "Now we better disguise our non-human features and also put on more casual clothing. You don't want anyone here questioning our odd looks, don't you?" After saying that, Mamizou's clothing was changed in a puff of smoke. She was now wearing a light brown coat over a white shirt and a dark brown skirt that went past the knees. As she cannot make her tail disappear, she shrunk it as much as she could and made sure that it was covered up by the coat.

"Nice! However, I don't think my wardrobe needs that much change. The last time I looked at pictures of the outside world, I saw clothing that are the same kind as mines, so I'll just hide my wings," Nue said. Her wings became distorted and eventually disappeared. "There! Brrrr… Have to do something about this coldness, however… Unlike you, I can't transform my clothes…"

"Right, your ability is to conceal yourself using illusions, not transforming. And you're only starting to feel cold now… Good resistance to cold? Or just slow to realize?" Mamizou said. "Anyway, I'll buy you something warm and comfortable to wear. I earned money while I was living out here, and I have them saved in my bank account. Speaking of bank account…"

Mamizou went out of the alley and looked at the building to the right. "Yep! I knew it! We're right next to a bank! I'll withdraw some money for us to spend our time out here."

So they both went into the bank, and it took a few minutes for Mamizou to acquire some money from her account. After they were done, they came out of the bank, and Nue asked the tanuki, "What job did you have when you were living out here?"

"Not a job, actually… I sold old stuff to pawn shops and recycling centers," Mamizou told her. "Trust me; you won't believe how easy it is to earn money just by selling things that are thrown away by people! Anyway, let's go and get you a coat before you catch a cold."

"Okay!" Nue happily said with a nod.

* * *

**Opening Theme  
What is Most Terrifying…  
(vocal remix of Heian Alien, by RD-Sounds)**

A Game2002 Production

TOUHOU PROJECT

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.

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_UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: NUE_

* * *

After putting on a black coat that had pictures of UFOs on its back and a smaller one in front of it, Nue spun around and then struck a pose of having one hand on her waist and the other at the back of her head. Mamizou stuck up her thumb to let her know that it suited her perfectly.

* * *

The duo was now outside the boutique, standing behind a bus stop. Nue was wearing her new coat and a pair of long, black pants. When the bus came, they both went aboard it.

Because it was her first time riding an outside world vehicle, Nue couldn't contain her excitement on her seat and had a happy expression on her face all throughout the ride while looking out the window.

* * *

The bus came to a stop in front of a subway station, and then they stepped out of the former and went into the subway.

They waited for the train to arrive, and it eventually did. When the doors opened, Nue was shocked to see a large amount of people pouring out from some of the doors, and an equally large amount of people were rushing into some other doors. Mamizou grabbed Nue's arm and then dragged her into the train before there was too little space inside.

By the time everyone was inside the train, there was more or less no space at all. Nue and Mamizou found themselves pressed uncomfortably by the people around them.

When the train finally arrived at their destination, tons of people immediately rushed out of the former. Nue and Mamizou came rushing out as well, grasping for air while doing so.

* * *

The duo was taking a stroll through a department store. Nue was amazed at the various items put on sale and couldn't help herself from stopping in front of most of the merchandises to get a better look at them and even touch them and pick them up.

She accidentally dropped and broke a vase, so Mamizou had to pay for it, but it wasn't very expensive.

* * *

The duo was now at the arcades, playing the games there and enjoying them greatly, despite the fact Nue was very bad at them and always lost to Mamizou when playing against her. She was, however, very good at rail shooters, and she earned more points than Mamizou when playing cooperatively with her.

* * *

The both of them were now in the food section of the department store. There were several food samples that were free for people to eat, so they both took advantage of trying to fill their stomachs with them. However, Nue unknowingly ate the ones that were on sell. Mamizou had to pay for them afterwards, and luckily for her, her friend didn't eat a lot before finding out about this.

* * *

They both went to a movie theater afterwards, and Mamizou decided to watch an action movie using 3D glasses. When watching the movie, Nue kept on getting surprised by the images that seemed to pop out of the screen from time to time and the occasional loud noises caused by the theater's stereophonic sound.

* * *

After they were done with the movie, they went to eat lunch at McDonalds.

* * *

They went to play at a park after they were done with their meal. Because it was winter, most of the park was covered in snow, so they threw snowballs at each other and built a snowman. Skates were even for rent to be played on a frozen lake, and Nue was a pro in skating, so good that she attracted and amazed the attention of onlookers. Sounds of clapping and "wows" filled the air every time she performed high difficulty tricks and spins.

* * *

For the rest of the day, Nue and Mamizou traveled to various places of Tokyo to see its sights and participate in various forms of entertainment, such as window shopping, shopping, eating, watching street performances, and more.

Nue was without doubt having the greatest time of her life**.**

**Opening Theme Ends**

* * *

**Chapter 1  
One Fun Day Gone to Pass**

* * *

Nighttime was approaching, but that didn't make the streets of the big city any quieter or less crowded. In fact, a certain route that was filled with vendors at the sides had more people than ever, to the point that one had a hard time trying to make his or her way through the place without squeezing in between other people. This was exactly what Mamizou and Nue were doing.

"Ugh… I've never been pressed in between so many people before… Is the outside world always like this at night…?" Nue asked.

"Depends on the location…" Mamizou replied. "Places where nightlife activities occur have more people than usual during this time of the day… However, this means that the place is more fun."

"I don't see the fun in getting crushed by people…" Nue said.

"I agree…" Mamizou said.

After making their way through the crowd, they eventually came to a part of the route that had lesser people. "Phew… At last…" Nue said with a sigh of relief. "Let's not go back there anymore, okay…?"

"I never intended to go back in there unless left with no choice…" Mamizou replied. "Anyway, I think it's time we eat dinner."

"Right, I had so much fun that I completely forgot about that…" Nue said while placing her hand on her abdomen.

The duo traveled down the route and looked at the various vendors, most of which were selling secondhand items. While looking around, Mamizou noticed a sight considered too common in a place filled with people, wallet-snatching.

A man wearing a dark gray hat and a gray coat was carefully putting his hand into the bag of a blond girl wearing a purple coat and a white hat, and then he slowly took out a wallet from there. He quickly put it into his coat and then walked away, hoping that nobody saw what he did.

Mamizou saw what he did, but she kept quiet about it as she and Nue walked in the direction of that man, who was walking in their direction. When the man walked past her, Mamizou quickly slipped her hand into the man's coat and took out the wallet, but her sudden action made the man realize this, so he angrily said to her, "Hey! How dare you steal my wallet?!"

Mamizou took out an identification card from the wallet and showed it to him. "Oh, the girl on this card is you? Looks very different from the actual person…" Then she turned around to the owner of the wallet. "Excuse me, lady, but I think this wallet is yours."

The blond girl looked into her bag. "My wallet is missing! That indeed is mine!"

The man, seeing that he was busted, quickly turned to run, but two people standing nearby quickly snatched him from the sides. "You're not getting away, thief!" one of them said.

"Wow! You're great!" Nue said to Mamizou. "How did you know that guy is a thief?"

"You have to keep your eyes out on your surroundings if you want to catch people like him," Mamizou told her. "In the outside world, this happens pretty often."

The blond girl approached Mamizou and said, "Thank you very much for catching the thief!"

"You should keep your bag close at all times," Mamizou said as she returned the wallet to the girl.

The girl looked at her bag and said, "But I had it close! Maybe someone unintentionally opened it while I was squeezing through the crowd."

"Or maybe that person had his eyes on you and secretly opened it without you knowing while in the crowd," Mamizou said. "Anyway, be careful next time."

"Thank you very much!" the girl said to her with a smile.

"Maribel! There you are!" shouted someone, and then a brown-haired girl wearing a black hat and a black coat came over to the blond girl. "We got separated while in the crowd, but good thing I found you easily!"

"Renko! You're here!" the blond girl said to her. "Just now, someone stole my wallet, but this girl got it back for me!"

The new girl looked at Mamizou and said, "Really? Thanks a lot for helping my friend!

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

The song I chose for the opening is supposed to play all the way to the end before the actual chapter begins, so the scenes of Nue and Mamizou having fun are supposed to be dragged out to accommodate all seven minutes and nine seconds of it.

Not counting the prologue and the opening theme, this chapter is actually very short. Anyway, Maribel and Renko will be supporting characters in this story. There will be two more outside characters from the series showing up, and I think you should know who they are. There's also going to be a character crossing over from a series that is supposed to take place in the same universe as Touhou. Can you guess who that character is?

Lastly, this story's plot is actually based off a particular movie. I'll reveal in due time what it's based off of.


	2. Making the Future a Reality

**Actually Not a Pointless Rambling: **Touhou: Double Dealing Character, the 14th mainstream installment in the series, is announced! Big thanks to Ziden115 for telling me about this! Sakuya fans can now rejoice over the fact that she's finally playable again! By the way, this rambling is made on the same day this game got announced, so it's not actually slow news.

Remember what I said in Shizuha: Goddess of Red Leaves that because I am making a series of stories to build up a major story, it would be a good idea if you try to remember some of the details of the previous stories? Just a friendly reminder that I'm sure will be useful in this chapter…

Just so you know… The vocal part of the opening theme in the previous chapter starts at the same time as the "After putting" part starts. Just felt like letting you all know that I really do treat my stories as if they are movies or TV shows, so deciding what part of the BGM fits what part of the story, while not actually important to me, is something I try to put extra thought into.

**Chapter 2  
Making the Future a Reality**

* * *

The blond girl and her friend walked out of a police box and met with Nue and Mamizou, who were standing outside. "Sorry for the wait…" the brown-haired friend said. "We're done making records with the police regarding this wallet-snatching."

"Good to know that everything went well!"Mamizou said.

"As promised, we'll be treating you to dinner tonight!" that girl said. "I know a place that's offering a special discount if four or more people are eating together at the same table this Christmas, and we have just the right number!"

"Are you sure it's all right?" Mamizou asked her. "We barely know each other, and yet you're treating us to dinner…"

"It's all right! We want to thank you for helping me get back my wallet!" the blond girl told her. "You deserve it!"

"Where's the harm in letting them treat us?" Nue asked Mamizou. "Isn't eating free dinner a great thing?"

"Well, I was taught that always letting other people treat you isn't a good thing…" Mamizou said to her. "Oh well, I think it wouldn't hurt…"

"All right, then it's decided!" the brown-haired girl said. "Let's go to that place I talked about now! Oh, by the way, we haven't introduced ourselves yet. My name is Renko Usami."

"And I'm Maribel Hearn," the blond girl said.

"I'm Mamizou Futatsuiwa, and my friend's name is Nue Houjuu," Mamizou told them.

"Nue? As in that mythical creature with the head of a monkey, the body of a raccoon dog, the legs of a tiger, and a snake as a tail?" Renko asked.

"Yeah, that nue," Nue said with a nod.

"Her father is a huge fan of creature found in mythologies that he named her after that," Mamizou told the two girls before one of them questioned this odd name.

"I see… You seem to have no problem with it…" Renko said to Nue.

"None at all!" Nue cheerfully replied. "Because I'm a Nue!" What she said made Maribel and Renko surprised, and Mamizou gave her a "you shouldn't be saying that!" kind of look. "Um… I mean… I love nues…"

"Oh… Okay… Glad you like it…" Renko commented.

* * *

The group walked down a sidewalk to make their way to the restaurant Renko talked about. "It's up ahead. We're getting close, she said.

As they were walking past a bar, a purple-haired girl was pushed out of its entrance. "And don't come back!" the bar's owner shouted at her before slamming the door shut.

"Why would I want to come back to a bar belonging to someone like you?!" the purple-haired girl shouted at him while raising her fist at the door. "I, Isami Asama, will never come back to your filthy and horrible bar again!"

That girl turned to leave in the direction of Nue and her company, and she said to them, "Here's a friendly advice from me to you: NEVER eat at this place! The service is horrible! They don't even let you have infinite refills!" Then she hiccupped before walking down the sideway in a drunk manner.

"What was that all about…?" Nue asked.

"Just a troublemaking drunkard who got kicked out of the bar for… Well… causing trouble…" Renko replied. "Not a rare right, actually…"

* * *

The group finally arrived at the restaurant Renko talked about. It was one that served Western meals, and just like she said, this place was currently offering discounts to groups of four people who ate together at the same table.

"This is so good! I've never eaten anything this good before!" Nue said while enjoying her fish and chips.

"You never ate this sort of thing before?" Renko asked her.

"Well, we don't get to eat stuff like this… often… where we come from…" Mamizou explained to her.

"Where do you two come from?" Maribel asked.

"Sado Island," the tanuki replied.

"I see," Renko said with a nod. "They have Western restaurants there, however."

"Well, we live in the more rural areas, so you don't find them there…" Mamizou told her.

"So what brings you to Tokyo?" Maribel asked the two.

"I want to… I have never left Sado Island before, so I really want to come to Tokyo…" Nue said, and Mamizou nodded.

"Coming during Christmas is the right time!" Renko said. "There are a lot of attractions during this time of the year, but places are also more crowded…"

They continued to eat dinner, and then Maribel brought up a new topic. "Nue, you said your father is really into mythical creatures, right?"

"Yeah," Nue replied with a nod. "What about it?"

"Have you ever heard of a place called Gensokyo?" Maribel asked.

Mamizou and Nue were surprised, but because they didn't want to expose the truth behind where they came from, they tried not to look too surprised and shook their heads. "Nope…" they both said.

Renko looked at her friend and said, "Um… I don't think there's a point in bringing that up… Barely anyone believes in the existence of that place, and chances are likely that they're going to think we're crazy for believing it…"

"It's all right," Mamizou told her. "Learning new things, whether or not they're real, is nice, so why don't you please go ahead?"

"You want me to?" Maribel asked her. "Well, for starters, Gensokyo is a place located somewhere in Japan and is hidden from view."

"Even satellites cannot find that place from outer space," Renko told the two. "Supposedly, it is a protected by a magical barrier that keeps it from being seen from the outside."

"It is a place where creatures that are believed that exist only in myths, such as fairies, ghosts, and demons, are found," Maribel continued. "Sounds strange, but I am very that it exists!"

"What makes you so sure that this place called Gensokyo exists?" Mamizou asked her.

"Because I actually went to that place before," Maribel replied, and it surprised those two. "Not physically, but mentally…"

"What do you mean?' Nue asked.

"You see, sometimes when I sleep, I dream of going to Gensokyo," Maribel said. "Normally, I would shrug them off as merely a dream, but it is so real that it's like I'm actually there! I got attacked by demons before too, and I usually wake up out of fear and return to the real world when that happens."

"It might sound bizarre and nonsensical, but Maribel can actually visit places in her dreams," Renko told them. "She even took me to an abandoned space station through her dream! She never took me to Gensokyo through her dreams, however, but because I experienced being taken somewhere through her dream myself, I am one-hundred percent sure that Gensokyo without doubt exists and that Maribel really did visit that place!"

Maribel then told Mamizou and Nue about her experiences in Gensokyo, about how she visited a large scarlet mansion and also a bamboo forest. After hearing her story, Mamizou and Nue looked at each other in silence and disbelief. Seeing their expressions, Renko asked them, "Unbelievable, isn't it? It's all right if you don't believe us, since we don't have physical evidence to make other people believe. Whatever the case it, we both believe in the existence of that place and will try our best to find it! Visiting Gensokyo in person is our dream!"

"Well, then I hope you succeed someday!" Mamizou told her. "As for whether or not we believe it… Well, the world is a large one, so anything can happen!"

"Yeah, there are lots of strange things in world, so I'm sure that place called Gensokyo does exist!" Nue said.

* * *

After finishing dinner, the group exited the restaurant and decided to part ways. "Thanks for the great meal!" Nue said to them.

"You're welcome!" Maribel said to her. "Thank you very much for getting back my wallet today! I'm very grateful!"

"It's nice knowing the both of you!" Renko said to them.

"We can say the same thing, too!" Mamizou said.

Both sides waved good-bye to each other, and then they parted ways. Mamizou and Nue walked down the street, and the latter stretched her arms into the air and yawned. After that, she said, "Boy! Am I tired! Had a whole day of fun today! I could really get a good rest now!"

"We better find an inn to turn in the night now," Mamizou said. "Let's hope it's easy to find a cheap but comfortable place around here…"

* * *

A few scientists were gathered together inside a lab, analyzing a device the size of an iPhone that had lines and circles on one side of it.

While they were doing so, a red-haired woman dressed in red came into the room and approached them. "Are you able to find out anything about this?" she asked.

One of the scientists shook his head. "No, Professor Okazaki, we are unable to find out much about it. From what we've gathered, this is likely a storage device of some kind, and there are actually lots of data stored in it. However, those data are written in a language that we have never seen before, and we cannot find out what language it is. We also can't figure out how to use or activate it…"

"I see… At least we know a little about what it is…" the red-haired woman said. "Eyewitnesses claim that this thing popped out of a vortex in the air… What exactly is this thing? Is it something of alien origin?"

"Oh, c'mon! You know that aliens don't exist!" one of the scientists said.

"I actually think it's possible that they do exist," another scientist said.

"Well, there are several unexplained stuff seen the sky, so I guess there's a possibility," said yet another one.

A debate about whether or not aliens exist started, and the red-haired woman eventually decided that enough was enough. "All right! All right! Whether aliens exist or not isn't important now! Anyway, it's pretty late now, so I think it's time that you all go home. Enough work is done for today, so you all deserve a rest! Also, remember that we are having an exhibition tomorrow, so make sure that you all have enough energy for the busy day tomorrow."

With that, the scientists started cleaning up things and then left the room, and the strange device was put into a glass box so that it wouldn't get stolen.

* * *

Nue tossed her back onto the bed and bounced once on it. "What a comfortable bed! Sure beats sleeping on a mattress back home!"

Mamizou looked around the room they were staying in and said, "Can't believe that they have a cheap inn with such a good quality! We'll stay here until we go back to Gensokyo."

Nue turned over on her front and used her elbows to raise and support her upper half part of the body before asking her friend, "What's tomorrow's plan?"

"I was thinking of going to the science exhibition at Ota Tech tomorrow," Mamizou replied. "I saw a poster about this while we were out there."

"Science exhibition?" Nue curiously said.

"You know that the outside world relies on science to prosper, right?" Mamizou asked her. "The exhibition tomorrow will likely show us cool scientific stuff that the people of the outside world invented. Chances are likely that most or all of the stuff there are things that you've never seen before in your life!"

"Really? Sounds fun! Let's go, then!" Nue said with a nod.

"And also… Those two girls know Gensokyo's existence… Never thought that there would be humans in the outside world knowing the existence of that place…" Mamizou said in disbelief.

"It's not strange, actually," Nue told her. "The wind priestess at the Moriya Shrine knows about Gensokyo too, but it's likely that the goddesses at the shrine told her about this. Speaking of this, do you think we should let them know the truth? About us living there and that we're not humans?"

"I think it's best that we keep this a secret," Mamizou replied. "It may not be a big deal if they believe in the existence of demons, but Gensokyo isn't the kind of place where you go to for vacation and then return to your home safely. Whether or not Maribel really did visit Gensokyo in her dream, it's not the same if she goes there physically. For the sake of their safety, I think we should avoid telling them these."

"You have a point," Nue agreed.

* * *

The next day, the duo from Gensokyo did as they said they would: they visited a towering building called Ota Tech. It was one of the leading science and technology companies in Japan and had invented various high-tech products that one usually could only find in science fiction medias. It was called by everyone the company that made the future a reality.

When they entered the building, they saw several high-tech machines and equipments that they had never seen before. There were also 3D holograms of flying machines seen moving around in the air.

"Wow! Look at all those… all those… thingamajigs!" Nue commented in awe. "I have never seen anything like these before! Those see-through things flying in the air… Are those spirits of airplanes or what?"

"Those are 3D holograms, but I've only seen them in movies and TV shows," Mamizou said. "Never thought they could actually make this a reality! The outside world sure has progressed in ways that even I don't know!"

"Mamizou! Nue!" shouted a familiar voice. The two turned to the source of the voice and saw Renko approaching them, and Maribel was just behind her.

Nue called out their names in surprise as she ran up with Mamizou to them. "Wow! What a surprise to see the both of you here!" Nue said to them.

"I can say the same too!" Renko said to her. "You're here for the exhibition, right? We came here for that reason too!"

"Yeah, we want to see the new inventions here," Mamizou said. "Visiting this place made me realize that I really should see the world more!"

"We are surprised by the things here as well!" Maribel said. "Ota Tech managed to invent several things that are thought impossible to be made. People aren't kidding when they said this place is capable of making the future a reality!"

The group of four then traveled together throughout the exhibition. They saw things like computers with 3D hologram interfaces and motion-sensor controls, antigravity devices that allowed people to float in air a few feet, robots with human-like behavior and movement, hoverboards, and more.

After touring the place for a while, they saw a tour guide speaking through a megaphone. "We are now offering a tour to the higher floors of Ota Tech. There, you will be able to listen to some of our more renowned scientists speak!" she said. "When you came in here, surely you have received a number tag. If you hear your number being called out, then you can join the tour!"

"Number tag?" Nue curiously said.

"I think she means this one," Mamizou said as she took out a small paper tag that had the number 1308 on it.

Maribel and Renko took out theirs, and their tags read 1212 and 1211 respectively. Nue looked at hers, and it was the number 1309. The tour guide began calling out the numbers, and when the people who were nearby heard their numbers being called out, they approached her and showed her their tags.

"One three zero nine!" the tour guide said using her megaphone.

"Wow! It's me! I get to join the tour!" Nue happily said while looking at her number tag.

"Good for you!" Mamizou said.

The tour guide kept on calling out numbers, and Maribel and Renko's numbers were eventually called out. Eventually, the tour guide stopped calling out numbers and said that the number of people in the tour was enough.

"Guess I wasn't lucky enough…" Mamizou said while looking at her tag. "Enjoy your tour, then! I'll be waiting for your return."

"Don't worry; I'll surely tell you about my experience there!" Nue told her.

"Let's go," Renko told Nue. "The tour guide is starting to leave." So Nue and Maribel left with her to start the tour.

* * *

The tour guide took them to the fifth floor of the building and brought them into a room that was filled with scientists moving around and working on machines, computers, and various lab equipments. There were also small animals caged up. "This is the floor where they study biotechnology," the tour guide explained. "Here, the scientists are trying their hardest to make people's lives better through the usage of technology. The head of the biotechnology division, Akihiro Machida, will be speaking with you shortly."

As soon as she said this, a man wearing a lab coat approached her. He had a small moustache, and his hair was grayish in color and looked somewhat curly and messy. "More like right now!" he said.

"Oh, you're here!" the tour guide said in surprise, and then she turned to the participants. "Everyone, this person is the one I mentioned just now, Doctor Akihiro Machida!"

"It's nice to meet you all!" the man said to them. "I welcome you all to the biotechnology division of Ota Tech! As the tour guide said just now, this division is dedicated to improving the lives of people using technology. Genetic is one of the main subjects that we are studying. Surely most of you know that DNAs are what defines each and every single one of us here! For people who have limited knowledge regarding this, I will now offer a quick explanation about DNAs." And the scientist did as he said.

Nue, who was lacking knowledge in this subject, wasn't able to understand most of what he said, but thinking that this subject was supposed to be common knowledge in the outside world, she tried not to show it.

"Currently, our division is researching on how to make a person use his full potential," Dr. Akihiro said. "Imagine being able to use one-hundred percent of your brain or having your strength be at peak level! We are working on a kind of medicine that we believe will allow one to achieve that kind of state, and the progress, while not complete, is going very well!"

"Medicines that allow people to achieve peak capabilities? I guess only Ota Tech can make this a reality… Not saying it's a bad thing, mind you," Renko quietly said to Maribel. "I actually think it's cool!"

"But something tells me that this may not necessarily be a good thing… Imagine if an evildoer gets his or her hands on it…" Maribel told her.

"You have a point…" Renko said with a slight nod.

"We have a video that offers more explanation on this," Dr. Akihiro said. "I will now lead you to the room where the movie will be played!"

They headed in the direction of the room, and when they were close to it, Nue approached the tour guide and said to her, "Excuse me… I need to go to the bathroom. Do you know where it is?

The tour guide was going to answer her, but Dr. Akihiro heard her and replied to her instead, "See the bathroom sign over there? There it is. When you're done, come back here and take the hallway on the right to get to the room with the movie."

"Okay! Thanks!" Nue said before rushing off in the direction of the bathroom.

* * *

Nue came back out of the bathroom after she was done, and she headed back to where the tour participants originally were. "Let's see… I'm supposed to take the hallway at the right…" she said to herself. She headed for that hallway and then saw a scientist carrying a cage containing some white mice heading in the direction of a hallway that was on the other side of the one she was heading for.

Seeing those white mice, Nue became curious. Wanting to know why there were small animals caged up here, she decided to follow the scientist into that hallway, despite there being a sign saying that only staff members were allowed. Nobody saw her following the scientist.

Nue secretly followed the scientist and then saw him stopping in front of a door and entering a password onto the number panel on it to open it. Nue took note of the numbers he pressed, but she didn't go to the door right away after he went inside. She waited for a few seconds, and then the scientist came back out and headed in her direction. However, he walked past her as if he didn't notice her, because all he saw was a small beetle clinging to the wall.

After smirking at the fact that the scientist didn't see through the illusion she used to conceal herself, Nue headed over to the door and inputted the password on the number panel: 1988. The door opened, and then Nue went inside and saw various large machines, lab equipments, and a few cages containing white mice. "What is this place?" she wondered.

She walked through the place while looking at the various things and mice found there. She also looked at the computer screens and saw they had 3D models of DNA strands, but she didn't know what they were. She eventually set her eyes upon a large machine that was attached to the ceiling, and underneath it was a holder containing several test tubes.

Nue walked up to the test tubes to look at them. Some of them were empty, but some contained what appeared to be blood. "What's this?" she wondered as she walked around the machine, and then she spotted a pad and a control panel. When she saw the words "_Place specimen here_" printed on the center of the pad, she curiously placed her hand there. However, nothing happened.

She noticed that the switch was turned off on the control panel, so she turned it on using her other hand. Once the switch was turned on, the machine activated with a loud engine-like sound. Suddenly, a needle that was attached to the bottom of the machine came down on top of Nue's hand and stabbed it. She screamed in shock at the sight of this, and when the needle rose back up into the air, she quickly pulled away her hand and looked at the wound inflicted. It was a really small one, however.

The needle moved to an empty test tube and drained the small amount of blood that it sucked up from Nue's hand into it. The nue looked at the test tube containing her blood curiously, but then she heard the door opening.

A scientist came into the room and looked in the direction of the machine, but instead of seeing a person standing there, he saw a trash can. He gave no thought to it and then went in another direction. While the scientist was looking away, Nue quickly floated towards the door and quietly opened the door before slipping out.

Nue rushed out of the hallway before anyone saw her, and she arrived at the room that was filled with scientists, she sighed with relief that she managed to make it out safely. "Phew… That was close…" she quietly said to herself, and then she looked at the part of her hand which got stabbed by the needle. "That thing took a bit of my blood… Let's hope nothing bad happens because of this…" Then she remembered that she was supposed to meet up with the others in the room playing the movie Dr. Akihiro talked about, so she quickly headed there.

* * *

Back in the previous room, the scientist was picking up each of the test tubes and analyzing the blood samples by putting the former into a scanning machine that resembled a rectangular box with an opening at the side for putting the test tubes into. The test tube containing Nue's blood was getting closer and closer to the scientist by the moment…

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

In case you didn't realize, the trash can the scientist saw is actually Nue hiding behind an illusion. Speaking of illusions, she has her trident disguised as a pair of skis when touring Tokyo the first day.

Akihiro Machida is my OC. "Akihiro" means "bright prince".

In case you have a hard time trying to imagine what those 3D hologram computers look like… Ever seen the Iron Man movies? If so, then you should know that Tony Stark sometimes work with "pictures floating in the air". Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. I know that other medias have these kinds of 3D hologram computers, but I think the aforementioned movie series offers the best example.

So you people guessed that VIVIT would be the other outside world character? It's actually Isami from Uwabami Breakers. That game is implied to take place in the same universe as Gensokyo. Isami's profile in the game says that if one stays at Twilight Bar and drinks long enough there, they can see "a mysterious world of curtain fire".

Ota Tech is named after ZUN's real name Jun'ya Ota.


	3. Seeing Red

For a visual example of what Dr. Akihiro looks like, please head over to my Twitter, which can be accessed from my profile, to find a picture of someone I think looks the most like him. The date of that tweet is May 17.

**Chapter 3  
Seeing Red**

* * *

"This device is used for creating clouds that has a radius of as close as ten kilometers," a staff member of Ota Tech explained to the audience the usage of a rocket-shaped device placed on a table. "Using this, it is possible to create artificial rain and snow clouds! There's another use for it: when there is a widespread epidemic, the cure can be used with this to cover a large amount of area and heal people who are within its radius! Likewise, diseases can be spread using this, but rest assure that we will never allow it to be used in such a way!"

Mamizou was among one of the people watching the presentation. "Science sure has come a long way…" she said. "Lots of new things have popped up since I went to live in Gensokyo…"

"Mamizou!" shouted a voice that was familiar to her. She turned around and saw Nue approaching her with Maribel and Renko.

"Oh, you're all back!" Mamizou said to them. "How was the tour? Did you enjoy it?"

"We only toured three floors," Nue told her. "The first is about biotechnology, the second is about robots, and the third is about high-tech furniture. The flying cushions in the last floor are awesome!"

"So is the table with a built-in television and other media players!" Renko added. "The bookshelf that uses a mechanical arm to bring you the book you want just by calling out its title is even better! I really want that to become available to the public now!"

"But I'm sure it'll be very expensive," Maribel told her.

"Yeah, and I'm sure my parents wouldn't want to spend a large amount of money on that, too…" Renko said in a depressed tone.

* * *

For several minutes, Dr. Akihiro studied a glass slide containing a drop of blood using a microscope. His assistant, a spectacled man with neatly-combed hair, told him that when he passed a particular blood-filled test tube through the scanning machine, he discovered that its property was never seen before in any kind of blood types and couldn't determine what specimen it came from.

"Incredible… Its property… I have never seen something like this before!" Dr. Akihiro said with his eyes still looking through the lens of the microscope.

"I was surprised at its property too!" the assistant told him. "I compared it with all the animal specimens we ever brought to our company, but not one of them matched the property of this blood sample!"

"When was the last time the machine for drawing blood was used?" Dr. Akihiro asked the scientist as he took his eyes off the lens.

"This morning, and from a larger-than-usual lab rat," the assistant replied. "However, even that rat's blood property should match normal rats'. They're the same species after all."

Dr. Akihiro turned to look at something at the corner of the ceiling. "Perhaps we can find out something if we look into that security camera."

* * *

In the security room, a guard was reclining on his chair, relaxing while looking at each of the screens on the control panel. Suddenly, Dr. Akihiro and his assistant came into the room and said to the guard, "Quick! Replay the security camera of the blood testing room!"

The guard immediately got working on the control panel to replay the screen that was showing the blood testing room. Because it was played back at five times the original speed, it didn't take long for them to come across the sight of Nue "entering" the room, transforming into a trash can, changing back to let the machine "inject" blood into her, and then "leaving" the room. The guard returned the speed back to normal when they saw all those happening so that they could see clearly what was happening.

"Did… Did you see that…?" the assistant asked Dr. Akihiro.

"Yes, I saw it," the scientist said with a nod. "The blood likely came from that girl… Also, that girl… Guard, let the girl onto the screen and then pause." The guard did exactly as he said, and then Dr. Akihiro took a closer look at Nue. "That girl… She's one of the people in the tour and also the one who asked for the location of the bathroom!"

"But can you really be sure that it really came from that girl?" the assistant asked him. "Perhaps it was some sort of magic trick that she used to disguise herself as a trash can, so there's nothing special about her."

"Let's find out, then!" Dr. Akihiro said with a smirk.

* * *

When Nue's stomach growled, Renko heard it and asked her, "Hungry, right?" The nue nodded in response. "I think it's the same for us all…" Then she looked at the side and saw a simple food stand. "I think we'll eat here. Maribel and I ate here before, and despite being located at the side of the street, its quality is actually very good!"

"Anything is good for us, as long as we don't get a bad stomach afterwards!" Mamizou said.

* * *

Dr. Akihiro entered a room and came upon the machine he was looking for. It was about the size of a car, had a medium-sized screen on it, and a small satellite dish at the top. The scientist approached the machine and put the glass slide containing the drop of Nue's blood into a compartment on the right side of the control panel.

The red-haired woman also came into the room shortly after him. "So let me get this straight… You're going to use this DNA Owner Locator to find out where the owner of the blood sample you have is, right?" she asked him. "Why?"

"I didn't tell you why I'm doing this, did I?" Dr. Akihiro said while pressing the buttons on the control panel. "This blood sample contains a property that is never seen before in any kind of life form! I have seen with my own eyes through the security footage this girl doing something quite amazing! One could pass it off as a magic trick, though… However, the unique property in her blood is more than enough to convince me that there is something not normal about her, and I'm going to get to the bottom of this!"

"Well, if you say so…" the red-haired woman said with shrug. "Maybe she is simply one of those people with a very, very rare kind of blood type… Admittedly, even someone like that is worth investigating…"

When Dr. Akihiro was done entering the commands into the machine, the screen on the latter became a radar image that started searching for Nue's location. "Good! It's starting!" Dr. Akihiro said in delight.

While Dr. Akihiro was looking at the screen, the woman said to him, "You know… We could've used it to look for your nephew, Akemi, when she went missing, but the machine wasn't completed that time yet… When it was finally completed, we forgot about using it to look for her… She went missing for a year, and the police eventually gave up searching for her… Then news of her body was discovered a day ago… in a horrible state…"

"Yes, it's a pity that we never thought of using this to look for her after this was complete, but it's too late to think of that now," said Dr. Akihiro, who didn't seem to show hints of sadness in what he said. "Aha! The radar found something!"

The woman approached the screen and saw that it was showing a map with a blinking spot on it, and the spot was also moving. "Looks like she already left this place… She's not very far from here, however," she said. "So what do you plan to do?"

Dr. Akihiro took out a palmtop and then reached for a USB cable that was connected to the machine. He connected the palmtop to it and said, "Track her down and interrogate her, obviously."

* * *

Nue, Mamizou, Maribel, and Renko left the food stand together, and Renko said to the former two, "We've got our own things to do, so let's part ways here."

"Okay," Mamizou said with a nod. "Hope we meet again!"

"Same thing!" Maribel said with a nod. "Good-bye!"

After waving good-bye to each other, the two groups walked away in opposite directions. "So… what do we do now?" Nue asked Mamizou.

"Let's just walk around and see if there is anything to do or if I can think of something to do," Mamizou replied. "If there's nothing else to do or see in Tokyo, we can go to Sado Island. I'll be glad to pay my homeland a visit!"

"Sounds good!" Nue said.

The duo continued down the sidewalk, and unknown to them, Dr. Akihiro, dressed in a business suit, was following them from behind. He looked at his palmtop to see if he was on the right track. "Yep! Finally found her!"

The scientist quickly caught up to them and then cleared his throat before calling out to them. "Excuse me, girls…"

Nue and Mamizou turned around to look at him. "May we help you, sir?" Mamizou asked him.

Nue recognized him immediately. "I know you! You're that guy from Ota Tech!"

"So you remember who I am! I'm glad that I finally found you!" Dr. Akihiro said to her.

"You're looking for me?" Nue curiously asked.

The scientist nodded. "Yes, I've been looking for you, and thanks to the technology we possess in our company, looking for you is very easy! Actually, it was thanks to you leaving behind a sample of your blood that I was able to find you!"

"A sample of my blood?" asked a confused Nue, and Mamizou was equally confused when she heard this. Suddenly, the former realized what the scientist was saying. "Wait a minute… You don't mean…?"

"You somehow entered the blood testing room and got a bit of your blood drawn by the machine used for doing such a thing, and when my assistant scanned your blood sample, he found that it contains a never-seen-before property! As a biologist, this intrigues me greatly!"

Mamizou stared at Nue, and the former's facial expression seemed to be asking her what she had done. Trembling nervously, Nue said to the scientist, "Um… Are you sure you're looking at my blood sample? I'm sure that my blood is as normal as every human being… You must've gotten things wrong… I can't be anything special, can I?"

"But I used your blood sample to track down your location," Dr. Akihiro told them. "The machine we used for tracking you cannot be wrong. Don't worry; I just want you to come back with me to Ota Tech first."

Nue was nervous and wondered what she should do, and then Mamizou got in front of her and said, "I'm sorry, but my friend has the freedom to turn down being used as a test subject. Please, you are scaring her, and I do not believe that this is an ethical thing to do. My friend, as far as I am concerned, simply has a rarer kind of blood type. I'm sure you can look up on more info regarding her blood type from elsewhere. We do not wish to have anything to do with this, so please look for other ways to satisfy your curiosity. Thank you."

With that, Mamizou grabbed Nue's hand and then led her down the sidewalk as fast as she could by walking. Dr. Akihiro stood in his spot and said to himself, "Okay, so you won't come with me, eh? We'll see!"

* * *

That night, Nue and Mamizou were back in their inn rooms, watching TV.

Thanks to the tracking system that he transferred from the DNA Owner Locater to his palmtop, Dr. Akihiro had no problem finding the inn they were in. After finding out which room the nue was in using the tracking system, Dr. Akihiro went into the alleyway next to the inn and made his way to the back of the latter. After looking around for while, he found the building's air vent.

He opened the grating of the vent, took out a handful of pink balls, and threw them into the air vent.

* * *

Inside the inn, the people suddenly smelled a fragrance that made them sleepy when they smelled it. The smell grew stronger, which made them sleepier. Eventually, everyone fell asleep wherever he or she was.

Dr. Akihiro then put on a gas mask and entered the inn through the backdoor. Using his palmtop, he was able to determine the room Nue and Mamizou were in, so he went to the front desk to get the correct key before heading over to the correct floor.

After unlocking the door to Nue and Mamizou's room, the scientist went inside and saw the nue and the tanuki asleep with the television still turned on. The scientist went over to the nue, lifted her up over his shoulder, and then quickly ran out of the inn as fast as he could.

Once out of the inn, he ran to his car, which was parked in an area found behind the inn that was devoid of people. He put Nue into the trunk and then quickly drove away before someone saw him doing this.

* * *

Nue slowly opened her eyes, but her vision was blurry when she did so. When she tried to rub her eyes with her hand, she found that both of the latter were restrained to the chair she was sitting on via belts. "Where… Where am I…?" the nue asked while looking around the place. Slowly, her vision became clearer and clearer.

"Ah, so you're awake!" said a voice, and then Nue looked at the front to see Dr. Akihiro standing there with a syringe containing red liquid in his hand. "You are back in Ota Tech, in the same room you sneaked into this morning."

"You!" Nue angrily said. "What do you want with me?! And why am I here?!"

"I used a fragrance pill that causes drowsiness developed by our company to put everyone in the inn you're staying at to sleep, and then I brought you here," Dr. Akihiro replied, and then he showed her the syringe. "While you were asleep, I drew some blood from you and compared it to the one you left behind when you sneaked in here, and they are indeed the same! Don't worry; I didn't take a lot, so you should still be in a good condition. Taking time to recover is still a good idea, however."

"How dare you take my blood without my permission?!" Nue angrily said to him. "It's enough that your machine took a bit already! What exactly do you want from me?!"

"As I told you in our meeting out there, your blood contains a never-seen-before property," Dr. Akihiro told her. "Furthermore, you have those strange red and blue appendages sticking out of your back, and I have never seen a person with those before! As a biologist, this interests me greatly. If you do not want me to dissect you to get the answer, then you better tell me at once what exactly you are!"

"It's a secret! Plus, you're probably not going to believe anything I tell you either!" Nue told him. "You better let me go at once! You're going to regret it if you get on my bad side!"

"You can't possibly do anything to me like that!" the scientist told her. "The belts are too tough to be torn apart using brute force, so unless you have something sharp to cut them, you're not going to get off that chair!"

Hearing this, a mischievous-looking smile appeared on Nue's face. "Sharp things?" Then she moved her wings and found that they were still movable. "Oopsie… I think you made the mistake of not restraining my wings… Bad move on your part…"

"What are you talking about?" Dr. Akihiro asked while raising an eyebrow.

"I mean this!" Nue suddenly extended and used two of her wings to cut off all the belts restraining her and then stood up, much to the surprise of the scientist. The nue stood up and daunted the frightened scientist with her wings, which were waving around in an erratic manner. "Surprised, eh? You thought these appendages, which are actually my wings, are only for looks? You're not going to believe how sharp these things are, I tell you!"

"What… What are you?!" the scientist asked.

"Have you ever heard of a nue?" Nue asked him.

"Nue? You mean the mythical creature that looks like an amalgam of several animals?" Dr. Akihiro said.

"Yep! That's what I am!" Nue replied. "But as you can see, I look different. Not all nues look the same, but I'm sure that we all share the same dangerous nature when provoked. Heheheh!"

Dr. Akihiro raised his hands in front of his chest and said, "Wait! We can settle this peacefully! I didn't realize that you're… you're… not human! Now that I know you're not human, I finally understand why your blood has a never-seen-before property, not to mention your… wings! Now that my curiosity has been satisfied, you can feel free to leave now!"

"Why thank you!" Nue said. "However… I'm not exactly the kind of person who can get over being mistreated… I won't be able to sleep peacefully tonight if I don't get back at the person who mistreated me in some way first… So…"

Dr. Akihiro took a few steps back in fear, and at the same time, he reached his hand towards a nearby table to see if he could find anything to use as a form of defense. Suddenly, Nue dashed into him really fast and went past him, causing him to spin once and then fall forward. When he fell, he unintentionally stabbed his hand with the syringe containing Nue's blood and even pressed the plunger.

The nue rushed for the exit and opened the door. "Luckily for you, I don't really feel like doing anything more brutal," she said while standing at the doorway. "Make sure that you don't let me see you again!" Then she left and slammed the door shut.

Dr. Akihiro stood back up and grunted in pain as he took the syringe off his hand. Angry at the nue, the scientist quickly ran to an alarm on the wall, pressed it, and shouted into its speaker, "There's a girl on the loose here! Get her!"

* * *

Nue ran in the direction of the elevator, but a guard standing there ran towards her. "You must be the one!" he said.

Nue pointed her wings at him and fired energy beams that knocked him down, and then she ran for the staircase, thinking that it would be faster to get to the bottom this way. However, she saw some guards running up it, so she quickly returned the previous floor and headed for the elevator, only to see some more guards coming out of it, so she decided to head to the upper floor instead.

The nue ran up several floors as fast as she could, and the guards chased her nonstop while shouting for her to stop. She stopped going up at the eleventh floor to try to find a window for her to fly out. She ran down the hallway, turned around a corner, and went into the first room she came across. Once in there, she locked the door and then pressed herself against the part of the wall next to it to see if she could hear the guards out there. She heard them running down the hallway, but they went past the door and continued on their way.

The nue sighed with relief and then looked at the front and saw a glass box containing the iPhone-sized device. Curious at what it was, she approached the glass box and noticed that it wasn't closed properly, so she opened it and then took out the device. "What's this?" she wondered while looking at all sides of it.

"There she is!" shouted a voice. Nue turned around to see that a guard was looking at her through the door's window.

"Looks like I have no choice but to give them a good scaring… Why didn't I think of this earlier?" she wondered.

Because one of the guards had the key to this room, he was able to open the door. When they went inside, they saw a large monster that had the head of a monkey, the body of a raccoon dog, the legs of a tiger, and a snake for the tail. The guards were so terrified at the monster that when it charged at them, they ran without bothering to shoot it with their guns.

The guards ran down the hallway while screaming, and the monster gave chase a little bit before coming to a stop. "Heheh! They fell for it!" Nue said while hiding behind her illusion. "Now to get out of here!" She looked around and saw a window at the end of the hallway. "Great! An exit!" So she ran to the window, opened it, and jumped out it to soar into the air.

She looked back at Ota Tech's office building and said, "Haha! Out of there at last! Let's see you people trying to catch up with me like this!" Then she turned her head to the front. "Better get back to the inn… Mamizou must be worried about me!" Then she realized that there was something in her hand. It was the device she picked up in the room earlier. "Oops… Unintentionally took this with me… Oh well, a reward for myself for escaping that place, then…"

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED


	4. Identified Beast

Sorry for the wait… Writer's block struck me… Thanks to God, however, everything turned out all right in the end, so please enjoy this story!

Also, I believe that I'm able to implement the new characters from the new Touhou games into my build-up stories and also the story that is being built up. Please look forward to seeing some of them!

Also, out of curiosity, how many people realized that Dr. Akihiro is related to Akemi before it was brought up in the previous chapter?

**Chapter 4  
Identified Beast**

* * *

The bit of blood that Dr. Akihiro extracted from Nue while she was put to sleep was now inside his body, and the scientist wondered what sort of effect it would have on him. After all, it was the blood of a creature that was thought to exist only in myths, and who knows what the former could do to humans if it got inside them.

Dr. Akihiro used a machine for checking one's blood status to look at his blood veins. It was a computer-like machine with an arch-shaped device next to it. By placing his hand through the arch, he was able to see an x-ray image of his arm on the computer screen that showed his blood veins instead of his bones. The screen also displayed a message telling him that there was something foreign inside his blood veins, and he knew that it was the nue's blood.

The scientist took his arm out of the arch and wondered if he should try to remove the nue's blood. However, a part of him also wanted to see what sort of effects it would have. Suddenly, something came to him, so he quickly exited the blood testing room.

He made his way to another part of the same floor and came upon a room that was filled with bottles. "Since these pills maximizes one's full potential, I wonder what will happen if I consume it when the blood of a nue is inside me…" he thought.

He opened one of the pills and then consumed it. After that, he waited for several seconds for something to happen, but nothing ever did. He looked around his body to see if there were any changes. More than a minute passed, and there were still no changes.

He thought that maybe his performances had become better, so he tried to see if he could do something that he usually couldn't do, such as lifting a table that had heavy equipments on it. He tried lift such a table from its side using both hands, but he had a hard time doing so. Realizing that he hadn't changed at all, he angrily said, "These pills are a failure! Something will have to be said to the workers tomorrow! What a failure of a product!"

The scientist then decided that he had enough of staying in his workplace for the day, so he got ready to go home.

* * *

Dr. Akihiro came out of the office building, walked to the side of the street, and waved his hand to stop a taxi. When a taxi stopped, he got inside and told the driver where he wanted to go. The taxi only started driving for a few seconds when the scientist suddenly felt pain in his body that gradually became stronger and stronger.

Seeing the scientist in pain, the taxi driver asked him, "Sir, are you all right?"

"Just a bit of aching, nothing big…" Dr. Akihiro replied while beating his chest with his fist. The pain kept on increasing, and the scientist started to feel as if something was going to burst out from all over his body. The pain became worse and worse, to the point where he could no longer endure it, so he screamed in pain.

"Sir! What's wrong?! I'll take you to the hospital right away!" the taxi driver said in shock. Suddenly, a loud roar frightened him.

* * *

Mamizou wasn't happy at all. After hearing from Nue about what happened, the tanuki was furious. "I can't believe that madman did this to you!" she said. "I'm going to call the cops first thing in the morning and have him brought to justice! You can't kidnap someone to use as a test subject just to satisfy your curiosity!"

"How about we just forget about it?" Nue asked her. "I'm back and in a good condition, so let's just forget that it happened… We can simply leave Tokyo and go somewhere else if you are still worried that he'll come after me. Even with a tracking device, I'm sure he'll give up looking for me once he finds out that I'm too far away."

"I don't care! Nobody hurts my friends and gets away with it!" Mamizou said. "The more I think about it, the angrier I become! He's going to pay for this!"

"All right, all right… I get it… You're mad and want to avenge me… but seriously, I don't need you to do that for me…" Nue said to her. "I'm mad at him too, but I managed to get back at him in some way, so that's enough for me!"

"I'm still calling the authorities tomorrow!" Mamizou said. "He even put me to sleep just to kidnap you! I'm not going to sit still until he gets what he deserves!"

"You're angry about that too…?" Nue asked.

* * *

Traffic jams weren't anything to be happy about, and Maribel and Renko could testify to that. Stuck in the middle of the street on a bus, the two girls were bored out of their minds while waiting for the vehicles in front to move. "We've been riding for more than thirty minutes already…" Renko said. "It normally takes only about fifteen minutes to reach where we live from where we boarded this bus… This traffic jam is really horrible…"

"Can't be helped…" Maribel said. "It's actually still a bit of a distance from where we live, so we're going to tire ourselves out if we get off now and walk. None of the subway trains go to where we live as well, so we have no choice but to wait… At least there are still a few hours before midnight, and I'm sure we can get home before then."

"Let's hope so…" Renko said. She leaned her head against the window and looked out with a bored expression. She was about to fall asleep when she started hearing screams that started off soft, and when they became louder and louder, she became curious. She looked out the window to see people running ahead of the bus in panic.

Eventually, the amount of people running out in the streets made everyone in the bus curious. The sound of crashing was soon heard, and the people in the other vehicles got out and looked back to see what was happening. When they saw what was happening, they became scared and abandoned their vehicles to run on ahead.

"What's happening?" Maribel wondered while watching the people running outside.

"I don't know… Looks like bad news, though…" Renko replied.

Someone on the bus asked the driver to open the door so he could go outside to get a better look at what was happening, and the latter did as he said. Some people stepped out and looked back, and they also became scared and ran for their lives, but not before telling everyone in the bus to run.

Suddenly, a car fell at the side of the bus and crushed another car underneath it, but the driver in the latter had already evacuated earlier. The people in the bus were freaked out by the sight of this, so they quickly got down from the bus to run. "I think we better run with them…" Renko suggested. "I really do have a bad feeling about this…

Maribel nodded in agreement, and they both got out of the bus and then looked back to see more cars being hurled in their direction. Luckily, none of them flew into them, only around them. "What's happening back there?!" Renko asked in shock.

When they looked more closely, they saw a muscular figure at the back that was throwing the cars and scaring people. "I think there's a large animal or something over there!" Maribel said.

The "animal" let out a roar as it knocked away everything that was in its way by swinging its arms. Seeing that it was approaching, Maribel and Renko quickly turned to run along with the other people. Because the vehicles on the street made it hard to move forward, they quickly made their way to the sidewalk before running ahead.

The creature flung a car into the air and against the side of a building to cause a sign and pieces of the wall to fall down, and Maribel and Renko were right underneath them. "Watch out!" Renko shouted. She quickly jumped forward to avoid it, but Maribel moved back instead.

Renko got up and grunted in pain from the injury on her knee that was created when she scraped it against the sidewalk upon landing. Maribel ran around the debris and over to her friend to help her up. "Are you all right?" Maribel asked her.

"May have a bit of problem running now…" Renko replied.

* * *

Mamizou and Nue were flying through the air. The former was in the form of a sparrow and the latter hid herself behind an illusion of the same kind of bird. "Geez… You're impatient, aren't you?" Nue asked her friend. "I don't think the police are going to do anything about it at a time like this…"

"In the very least, I'm going to go and give that guy a piece of my mind!" Mamizou said in anger. "If he's already gone, then we'll see if we can obtain information on where he lives, and then we can contact the police to get them to go to his house and arrest him! Or we go and find him ourselves first."

As they were flying high above the street, they heard the sound of screaming and crashing coming from below, so they looked down to see people running for their lives. "What's happening down there?" Nue wondered.

Mamizou noticed something farther ahead that was rampaging through the street, throwing away smaller vehicle that got in its way and occasionally roaring in a loud voice. "Over there! I think that's the reason!" she said.

"What is that thing?!" Nue asked in shock.

"Look! It's Renko and Maribel!" said Mamizou, pointing at their two friends, who were trying to escape the creature on the sidewalk.

Due to injuring her knee, Renko wasn't able to move properly, so Maribel helped her by carrying one arm over her shoulders, but this resulted in them getting left behind by the crowd. The creature, while on the street, was only a few meters behind them, and they hoped that it wouldn't come after them.

Nue and Mamizou flew down onto the sidewalk and quickly put on their human disguises before approaching the two from behind, and the latter called out their names.

Maribel and Renko turned around, and the former said, "Nue! Mamizou! What are you doing here?"

"We'll talk about that later! We better get out you both out of here first!" Mamizou said.

"What is that thing anyway?!" Nue asked while looking at the creature. The cars blocked the creature partially, so she wasn't able to get a very clear look at it.

The creature let out of roar before suddenly leaping through the air and landing on top of a van that was ahead of Nue and her group, and the force of its landing, combined with its weight, flattened the vehicle somewhat. That was when the four girls managed to get a better look at the creature, albeit only its back. What they saw surprised them, especially Nue and Mamizou.

The creature wore a pair of black trousers and had a body covered in brown fur. The head had black fur, and the legs had yellow fur that was accompanied by black stripes. It had a green snake with a pair of fangs for a tail, and needless to say, it was sentient and swaying around while hissing menacingly. It also had six red and blue appendages, three of each color, growing out of its back. The red ones had pointed tips, while the blue ones had arrowheads for their tips.

The creature raised his head into the air and roared loudly, and then it leaped forward a large distance, crushing another car underneath it when it landed.

The four girls were shocked beyond words at they just saw. They stared at the creature as it went farther and farther into the distance for several seconds, and then Maribel asked, "What… What… is… that…?"

Mamizou and Nue looked at each other with wide opens mouths and eyes, and then the former said to the latter quietly, "That… That's… a… nue… right…?" The latter slowly nodded her head in response.

* * *

In the morning of the next day, some scientists and policemen were gathered at the eleventh floor of Ota Tech, as something had been stolen from one of the rooms on that floor.

The red-haired woman looked at the glass box for several seconds with a displeased expression. "So… who put that device into this box before leaving yesterday?" she asked. "That person forgot to use the lock on it, and look at what happened!" She turned around to look at the scientists who where in the room, and they were all just as curious as her as to who didn't lock up the glass box. "Nobody can answer me? Well, then we'll have to look at the security camera to see who it is, and that person better be prepared for the consequences of being careless!"

She then walked up to a button at the side of the door leading out to the hallway and pressed it before speaking into the speaker above the former. "This is Professor Okazaki calling the security room. I want you to check Room 1103's security footage. Check and see yesterday's footage at around nine o'clock at night to see who it was that put the mysterious device found in Akihabara into the glass box."

After that, everyone in the room waited for the guard in the security room to respond. About thirty seconds later, the guard responded through the speaker, "This is the security room calling. Professor Okazaki, are you there?"

"Yes, it's me responding," the red-haired woman replied. "Did you find out who it is?"

"Um… Yes… It's… It's… you…" the guard nervously replied.

The woman was stunned upon hearing this, not to mention the scientists. She tried to recall what she was doing yesterday and eventually remembered how things were, so she turned around to face the scientists with one hand at the back of her head. "Um… Sorry… I remember now… It was me who put that device into the glass box yesterday and forgot to lock it… I left the room last…"

"Geez, I can't believe that you can be this forgetful, Yumemi!" a blond girl with two ponytails dressed in a sailor outfit said to her. "So much for being a fine example of the perfect scientist around here…"

"Not everyone is perfect, okay?" the red-haired woman, Yumemi Okazaki, said to the blond girl. "Everyone makes mistakes."

"True, but certain mistakes really shouldn't be made by certain people," the blond girl, Chiyuri Kitashirakawa, said to her. "This mistake is a really big and unforgivable one, you know? As one of the top scientists here, you really should feel ashamed of yourself for making a mistake that caused something important here to be stolen! Just wait till the chairman hears… TOOF!" She was silenced when Yumemi karate chopped her in the head to knock her out.

"So anyway, it's my fault that this device got stolen, so I'll be the one responsible to get it back," Yumemi said to the scientists. "According to the guards, it is believed that a girl dressed in a black dress with red and blue appendages sticking out of its back stole it. Even though we still have no idea what that device is, we will not allow anything here to be stolen! For all we know, that thing may actually be a dangerous weapon that can be activated through unknown methods, so we must get it back at all cost!"

"I think you're exaggerating the situation, Professor Okazaki…" one of the scientists said to her.

"Well… it may be true… That device being a dangerous weapon, I mean…" Yumemi said to her. "Anyway, my assistant and I will get it back, so all of you don't have to worry about it."

* * *

As Yumemi and Chiyuri rode the elevator to a first floor, the latter asked the former, "So… how are you going to find that girl?"

"I'm sure the footage from the security camera is sufficient enough for us to find her," Yumemi told her. "We'll have to do stuff like gathering information from guards first regarding how that girl could've come in here in the first place and what she was doing here. After that, we'll compile the information we gathered and try to find out who and where she is."

The elevator stopped at the fifth floor, and Dr. Akihiro came inside with two briefcases in his hands. "Oh hi, Doctor Machida!" Yumemi said to him. "What's wrong? You look… under the weather today…"

"Had a rough night yesterday…" Dr. Akihiro replied. "Because of this, I plan to bring home some of my equipments to work there…"

"Is that so? I know you value work, but you should remember to take care of yourself as well," Yumemi told him.

"I will, and thanks for the concern!" the scientist told him.

The elevator reached the first floor, and all three of them came out. Chiyuri asked the scientist, "By the way, Doctor Machida, you were around here until nighttime, were you not?"

"Yes," the scientist replied. "What is it?"

"Well, you see… A girl stole that strange device found in Akihabara yesterday night…" Chiyuri told him. "I'm wondering if you know anything about this…"

Hearing what Chiyuri said, the scientist wondered if she was referring to Nue. After thinking about this for a few seconds, he asked, "Does that girl have red and blue appendages sticking out of her back?"

"That's the guards' description," Yumemi replied. "So you did see her?"

"I saw her being chased by the guards," the scientist replied. "I also remember her as one of the participants in the tour here yesterday. Other than that, I don't know anything else about her. Anyway, I'm leaving now, and I hope that you manage to find that device soon!" Then he headed for the exit.

The two watched him leave, and then Chiyuri said, "Well, I think we're still in step one… What ideas do you have now? I think we should call the police for help in investigating this…"

"Maybe…" Yumemi said with a nod.

* * *

Mamizou and Nue were in their inn rooms, thinking about what they saw the previous night. Even though they didn't get to see the creature's front, seeing its back was more than enough to surprise them beyond words, not to mention letting them identify what it was. "I can't believe that we would actually run into a nue here in Tokyo…" Mamizou said. "Encountering such creatures in the outside world isn't something that will never happen, but the chances of encountering one rampaging on the street are… next to zero… Nues almost never make themselves known to humans in their true forms, but that one…" Then she shifted her eyes to Nue, who appeared to be staring into the air. "Nue? Are you all right?"

When the nue didn't respond, the tanuki went up to her and patted her shoulder to grab her attention. "Oh, Mamizou… I'm fine…" she told her. "I was simply thinking about the nue from yesterday…"

"Quite a surprise to find your kind out here, eh?" Mamizou asked her.

"Yeah, but I'm thinking… I don't have proof of this, but for some reason, I'm somewhat convinced that the nue from yesterday has something to do with Ota Tech…" Nue told her.

Mamizou raised her eyebrow upon hearing this. "Ota Tech? Why do you say that?"

"Well, you see… That guy who took my blood is a scientist who studies biology, so maybe he's smart enough to use my blood to create a nue…" Nue explained.

"Um… Sounds a bit bizarre… but you'll never know…" Mamizou said. "I think the best way to get to the bottom of this is to go and ask the man himself. We didn't get to go and see him yesterday because of that nue, so I'm not missing my opportunity to do so now!"

* * *

The two wasted no time in rushing over to Ota Tech using flight while disguised as sparrows. After donning their human disguises in a nearby alleyway, the two girls went into the building and headed for the front desk. Mamizou asked the receptionist, "Excuse me, ma'am. We would like to meet the head scientist of the biotechnology department. I think his name is Machida or something…"

"You mean Akihiro Machida?" the receptionist asked her. "I saw him leaving this place less than thirty minutes ago."

"He went outside? Do you know when he will return?" Mamizou asked her.

"It's not afternoon yet, so he couldn't have been gone for lunch. If that is the case, then he shouldn't be gone for more than an hour," the receptionist replied. "He was carrying with him two briefcases when he left, so I think he went to do work out there…"

"Since you're not sure when he'll be back, can I ask for his home address?" Mamizou asked her. "That way, we can pay him a visit at his home. We have something urgent to talk to him about."

"Sure, I have his address here," the receptionist said as she started looking up the computer for the scientist's address. "Please wait a moment…"

* * *

Mamizou and Nue, after obtaining 's address, traveled through the air to head over to his house. "Let's see… It should be around this area…" Nue said while looking at the sheet of paper containing the address.

They finally arrived at Dr. Akihiro's house, but before they went to the door, they flew to the window and looked through it to see if he was in his room. They didn't see him, however, so they decided to go for the front door. The girls donned their human disguises, and then Mamizou pressed the doorbell and waited for someone to open the door.

Several seconds went by, and no one ever came out of the house, so the tanuki pressed the doorbell again. They waited for more than a minute, and when no one came out again, Mamizou said, "He's not home, is he?"

"Maybe we got here before him?" Nue asked. "Sure, he may have left earlier than us, but flying here is faster than walking or driving here."

"Maybe…" Mamizou said with a shrug. "However, while we were on our way here, there weren't that many cars on the street, so it shouldn't take long for him to get here."

"What do we do now? Wait until he's back?" Nue asked.

Mamizou wondered about this for a while. "Let's just take a look around this place and see if we can find him. It's also a good method for killing time before he gets back."

"If you say so," Nue said with a shrug.

The two girls donned their sparrow disguises again and then flew into the air to see if they could find the scientist.

After flying around for several minutes, they decided to stop on the rooftop of a warehouse. They sat down on the lower roof to relax, and while doing so, Nue turned around and looked into the window of the upper floor. What she saw surprised her, so she quickly tapped Mamizou's shoulder and also signaled for her to be quiet. The tanuki looked through the window and saw Dr. Akihiro inside, working on various lab equipments.

The two girls then went to the bottom and landed in front of the warehouse's entrance. "He's actually in there all along?!" Nue said in surprise. "I can't believe that we actually found him by chance!"

"Yeah, what are the chances…?" Mamizou wondered.

"So are we going to go in there and meet him?" Nue asked.

Mamizou placed her fingers underneath her chin and wondered for a few seconds before saying, "If he came all the way here, then it's probably because he doesn't want anyone to find out what he's doing. He's probably working on something in secret… If what you believe is true, then it's probably related to the nue we saw yesterday."

"Makes sense," Nue said with a nod. "After all, working on experiments related to a creature like that is something you don't want other people to find out, maybe except your assistants…"

"If that's the case, then I see the need to stop him at all cost," Mamizou said. "It's no laughing matter if he creates an army of nue for world domination or something like that! Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating things… but it's still a serious issue." Nue agreed with what she said.

* * *

Inside the warehouse, Dr. Akihiro picked up a pill he finished working on. "Good! This modification will allow the effect of maximizing one's potential to happen the moment it is consumed! With the nue's blood inside me, I'll be able to transform the moment I swallow it! Heeheehee!" Then he consumed it.

* * *

Nue and Mamizou sneaked into the warehouse and looked around with caution. The first floor consisted of a large empty room that had some machines and old stuff placed close to the walls, and there was a staircase at the back of the room that led to the second floor.

"Try not to make any noise until we get to the second floor," Mamizou told her friend. "We don't want him discovering our presence… Also, be on the lookout for security cameras, in case he has them installed here…"

Suddenly, something jumped down from the second floor and frightened them. It was a muscular gorilla-like beast wearing a lab coat, and there were red and blue appendages and a snake coming out from its back. The creature glared at them and then let out a roar.

"It's… It's the nue!" Nue gasped.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

DeadTurtle said that this story reminds him of the movie The Amazing Spider-Man. Of course he would be reminded of that movie, because this story's plot IS based off that movie! Because of this, I think it's easy for one to have an idea on how things will unfold, but I hope that you will still find the reading experience fresh and enjoyable, so please stick around until the end!

Also, Yumemi and Chiyuri are indeed the other two outside world characters. It was obvious, wasn't it?


	5. Mad Mind

**Chapter 5  
Mad Mind**

* * *

Nue and Mamizou stared in shock at the nue wearing a lab coat in front of them. The nue took a few steps closer to them and then said, "So we meet again, nue girl!"

"You… You know me?" Nue asked him.

The nue laughed with his teeth grinning and then said, "You made it possible for me to become like this! I extracted your blood, and when you bumped into me in an attempt to escape, I accidentally injected your blood into myself. After that, I took one of the pills we developed from maximizing one's potential to see what sort of effect it would have on me, and this is the result!"

Hearing this, both the girls were even more shocked. "You're… You're Doctor Machida?!" Mamizou said in disbelief.

"In the flesh!" Dr. Akihiro said. "I'd never thought that a nue would exist in real life, and changing into one myself is something that is even less believable! It looks like anything can happen in this world after all, and I'm glad that something like this happened! I'll have to thank you for this, little girl!"

"How… How can you be thankful for this?!" Nue asked. "You're now a monster! Why would like to have an ugly form like that?!"

"Power is one of the things humans strive for, and this power is what I'm looking for!" Dr. Akihiro said.

"I think I'll pass if it means to become horrible-looking like that…" Mamizou said.

"With your help, I'll be able to pass on this power to other people, girl," Dr. Akihiro said to Nue. "I welcome you to help me populate this world with your own kind!"

"Populate this world with my own kind…?" Nue curiously said. She thought for a few seconds about how nice it would be see her own kind all over the, but then she shook her head. "No! As much as it would be nice to be surrounded by my own kind, I don't think it's the right thing to do to forcefully change everyone into nues, assuming that's what you want to do! I won't allow you to do that!"

"Right!" Mamizou said to the scientist. "We will not allow your madness to ruin this world!"

"Then you are against me! I'll make sure that you regret your decision!" Dr. Akihiro angrily said before charging at them. When he was close, some of his wings stretched forward at a fast speed to strike them, but they both quickly jumped to the sides.

When Mamizou landed, she swung her arms horizontally against the air to send forth a group of birds made of blue energy lines, but the nue-turned scientist easily blocked them with his arm before trying to attack her with his wings, but she once again jumped out of the way.

From behind, Nue pointed the tip of her wings at Dr. Akihiro and fired beams at him. Dr. Akihiro turned around after getting hit by the beams, and then he fired constant streams of laser beams at Nue. She quickly flew out of the way, but the scientist moved the beams after her.

Mamizou sent forth several dogs made of green energy lines at the scientist from behind, but because his snake tail shared the same vision as the eyes at the front, he was able to tell that danger was coming. Dr. Akihiro turned around and used the beams coming out from his wings to destroy the dog-shaped projectiles, and then Mamizou quickly jumped to the side to avoid getting shot.

When the tanuki landed, she saw Dr. Akihiro charging at her. She quickly jumped to the side when he attempted to punch her, but the moment she did, one of his wings extended at her and smacked her into the air. Dr. Akihiro landed and then quickly turned to her before extending the blue wings at her to impale her, but the tanuki protected herself by transforming into a stone statue of herself dressed as a monk. Due to the hardness of her transformed state, the wings were unable to impale her, and she changed back after falling down.

"Unidentified: Red UFO of Rage"! Nue shouted as she held up a red spell card that made several small red UFOs appear in flashes of red light, and then they went to Dr. Akihiro and orbited him while bombarding him with energy shots. The mutated scientist held one arm over his face and endured getting shot by the UFOs, and then he lengthened his wings and swung them at the UFOs to destroy all of them in a single swipe.

Mamizou produced a karakasa in her hand with a puff of smoke and swung the one-eyed umbrella at Dr. Akihiro from behind, but his snake tail caught the tip of the umbrella and managed to stop it in its track, much to the tanuki's surprise. With a powerful swing, the snake sent Mamizou and the karakasa flying to the side. The snake then opened his mouth and fired several green energy beams that moved towards the tanuki in a wavy path, but she quickly opened the karakasa and used it as a shield for defense.

From the front, Nue fired several beams from the tip of her wings at Dr. Akihiro, who was doing the same thing. Some of the beams cancelled out each other, but some went past each other and struck their targets. Being the less durable one, Nue eventually fell back from taking too many hits. One of Dr. Akihiro's blue wings then stretched forward, wrapped itself around Nue, and pulled her for forward.

Holding the struggling Nue, Dr. Akihiro said to her, "You may be a full-blooded nue, but my capabilities far surpass you now due to the pill I created! It is my intellect that allowed the invention of such a thing! Unless you undergo years of training, you will never be as powerful as me!"

Mamizou ran towards Dr. Akihiro from behind with her karakasa pulled to the side, ready to take a swing at him. The snake tail saw her approaching, so the scientist attacked by swinging one of his red wings at her from the side. Mamizou jumped up to avoid it, and then she slammed the tip of the karakasa onto Dr. Akihiro's head from above hard to make him let go of Nue, and the latter quickly moved back from the scientist.

Mamizou landed in front of Dr. Akihiro, who quickly recovered from the blow and caught her with the snake tail's mouth. With the snake biting the screaming tanuki's waist tightly, Dr. Akihiro flew in the direction of a wall and flung her against it. After Mamizou hit the wall, the scientist punched her in the abdomen hard to crush her against the former. After punching her up to five times, Dr. Akihiro lifted her up by the neck and then slammed her onto the part of the floor behind himself. With his hand pinning her against the floor, the scientist pointed one of his blue wings at her to use it to impale her face.

"DON'T HURT MY FRIEND!" Nue shouted as she ran at Dr. Akihiro with her trident pulled back, and then using all her might, she hurled her weapon at Dr. Akihiro's forehead. With the trident stuck into his skull, the scientist let go of Mamizou and roared in pain. Nue quickly helped Mamizou up and carried her to a safer distance by placing her arm over her own shoulders. "Are you all right?"

The tanuki coughed in pain and then slowly said, "Not… that… good… …"

Dr. Akihiro pulled the trident out of his head and then angrily flung it at Nue, who managed to catch it by grabbing its handle with one of her blue wings. The trident was only a few millimeters in front of her face, and she sighed with relief that she didn't get pierced by her own weapon.

Dr. Akihiro ran towards the two, and Mamizou suddenly clapped her hands together to cause a large amount of smoke to spread out from around herself. Dr. Akihiro coughed when he breathed it in, and then he quickly moved back from the smoke while waving his arms.

He suddenly heard the door closing, so he turned to the door leading outside and realized that they both got way while he was blinded by the smoke. Dr. Akihiro growled in frustration that they escaped, and while he thought of going after them, he reminded himself that there was something more important to do at the moment, so he ignored them and then turned around to the staircase leading to the upper floor.

* * *

Nue carried Mamizou into an alleyway and then placed her onto the ground there. "Phew… Good thing we managed to get out of there with our lives…" Nue said. "How are you feeling now, Mamizou?"

"Still in a lot of pain…" Mamizou replied while rubbing her abdomen. "Ugh… That guy sure punches hard… It's as if he's actually capable of punching a hole right through you…"

"You look like you're fine. I'm relieved!" Nue said. "What do we do about him now? We don't know the details of what he wants to do, but we can't just let him do as he pleases!"

"Not sure if we can take him down in a direct confrontation… Maybe we can try to do something like destroying his equipments," Mamizou suggested. "That way, he won't be able to transform everyone into nues." Suddenly, the tanuki felt like wanting to throw up.

Seeing this, Nue lightly patted her in the back and asked, "I think we better take you back to the inn first… You should return to top condition first before we attempt to take on him. Can you fly?"

"Don't know…" Mamizou said. She tried floating into the air, but she couldn't go very high and looked like she was going to fall back down any second. "This seems to be the best I can do… for now…"

"Guess we'll have to travel on foot… or ride a car…" Nue said.

* * *

Yumemi and Chiyuri were standing outside Dr. Akihiro's house. After pressing the doorbell, they waited for about a minute for someone to open the door, which never happened. The former pressed the doorbell the second time, but the result was ultimately the same. "Strange… He said he isn't feeling well, so he should be home…" Yumemi said.

"Maybe he went to the hospital?" Chiyuri asked.

"That's a possibility…" Yumemi said.

"So what do we do now?" Chiyuri asked her. "How are we going to find that girl now? I assume that she left after finding out that Dr. Akihiro isn't home. Maybe we should come back later today or tomorrow? Perhaps she'll show up again to find him."

"Let's see if we can contact him through his mobile phone first," Yumemi said as she took out her smartphone and called the scientist. She waited for close to a minute and then cancelled the call. "No one's picking it up… but I think I can hear his phone ringing from the second floor's window… He didn't take it with him… Well, I guess we should just come back and find him tomorrow. Let's also hope that girl comes back to look for him tomorrow…"

* * *

The next day, Nue and Mamizou came back to Dr. Akihiro's neighborhood. The latter had recovered from her abdominal pain, so she suggested that they come back to the scientist as soon as possible to stop him from carrying out his plan.

Instead of heading for his house, they headed in the direction of the warehouse. As they were moving past his house, Yumemi and Chiyuri, who arrived again to find Nue, spotted them, so they quickly followed them.

Nue and Mamizou made it to the warehouse Dr. Akihiro was working in and looked around inside to make sure that there were no traps set up first before rushing for the staircase. Once on the second floor, they opened the sole door there and peeked into the room behind it, but they didn't see anyone at all. However, there was a table with a computer and several other lab equipments on it. "Where is he?" Nue wondered.

"Don't tell me that he already went to carry out his plan…" Mamizou said.

"Uh oh… We're too late…?" Nue said in a worried tone.

"But let's see if we can find anything here that will give us a clue to what exactly he is doing and where he is," Mamizou suggested, and then they both went inside and looked around the place.

Not too long after they stepped inside, they heard someone calling out to them from behind, so they turned around and saw Yumemi and Chiyuri. "Who… Who are you?!" Nue asked in surprise.

Seeing that the two girls were looking at them cautiously, Yumemi told them, "You don't have to worry about defending yourselves, because I'm not here to harm you. Well, that depends on whether or not you want to cooperate attentively and if you can provide an explanation for… this place…"

"You should at least tell us who the both of you are first," Mamizou said to her. "For all we know, you may be Doctor Machida's assistants!"

"Doctor Machida? Well, we know him, since we also work at Ota Tech," Yumemi told her. "Anyway, I'm Yumemi Okazaki, one of the lead researchers of that place."

"And I'm her assistant, Chiyuri Kitashirasawa!" Chiyuri told them while holding up a peace sign.

"What do you want from us?" Mamizou asked them. "And how do you know about this place?"

"Well, we were looking for someone in particular, and then we noticed her coming in here, so we followed her. When I showed the receptionist from our company a picture of that girl acquired from one of our security cameras, she told us that you asked her for Doctor Machida's address, so we went to his house to look for her," Yumemi explained. "You see, that person took something from our company, and we want it back."

"Um… I don't know what you're talking about…" Nue said. "Can you please elaborate on things?"

"I think you know what I'm talking about, missy," Yumemi said while looking at Nue. "Think carefully, and you'll know."

Nue started to think about what Yumemi was talking about, but then Chiyuri pointed at the equipments on the table. "Hey, aren't those equipments from our company?"

Yumemi noticed this and then approached the table. "You're right… If I remember correctly, they're from the biotechnology department… What are they doing here?"

"They belong to Doctor Machida," Mamizou told to the two. "He extracted my friend's blood and then injected it into his own bloodstream. After that, he used a pill he created to transform himself into a monster."

"What are you talking about…?" asked a confused Chiyuri.

"The reason he can transform into a monster… or rather… a nue… is because… I'm one myself…" Nue said before revealing her wings to the two.

Chiyuri was surprised by the sight of this, but Yumemi wasn't that much surprised. "Interesting…" she said. "So those aren't accessories or part of your clothing?"

"Nope," Nue said while shaking her head, and then she waved her wings around. "They're real and part of my body."

"So they're real, eh? Well, I can't say I'm not surprised, but since I've been to a place where mythical creatures exist, I'm not extremely surprised to find one out here either," Yumemi said.

"You've been to a place where mythical creatures exist?" Mamizou curiously asked.

Yumemi nodded. "Yes. I used to try to prove to the science community that there's a possibility of magic existing. Of course, it's hard to convince people who believe only in things that can be proven through science and logic, so I became a laughing stock. That place is called Gensokyo. My assistant and I went there before to try to kidnap one of its inhabitants and then bring him or her back to the outside world as proof that magic does exist. I set up a contest there and tried to kidnap the winner, but I ultimately lost to one of the participants, a shrine maiden, and was forced to offer her a prize and then leave that world empty-handed…"

"Shrine maiden? I guess she means Reimu…" Nue said in her head.

"The scholars at my university questioned my absence, and when I told them where I went and what I discovered, it was the last straw for them," Yumemi continued. "They kicked the both of us out of the university. Embarrassed, my assistant and I returned to Gensokyo to live there for a while. However, due being surrounded by technology all our lives, we couldn't get used to the primitive lifestyle of that place, so we eventually left and returned to the outside. Eventually, we both got a job at Ota Tech. We've never talked to anyone about Gensokyo and magic ever since…"

"Wow… That's quite a story…" Mamizou commented.

Yumemi looked at the lab equipments and said, "So… what's the story here?"

"It's like what my friend said earlier," Nue told her. "Doctor Machida injected my blood into his own bloodstream, and then he used a pill that he says can maximize one's potential to make himself transform into a nue…"

"So he used that pill… Yeah, I know what you're talking about," Yumemi said with her hand placed underneath her chin. "Makes sense that it would do that to him, since the pill caused the DNA of his blood to be enhanced and alter his appearance.

"He also said he wants to turn everyone into nues," Mamizou added. "We fought him yesterday, only to lose badly. We managed to escape with our lives, and now we're back to try to stop him, but he's nowhere in sight.

"If what you said is true, then we'll have to stop him fast…" Yumemi said. "Maybe we can find out something about his plan if we look around here…"

The four started searching the room for anything that could help them track down Dr. Akihiro. When Chiyuri looked at the computer, she noticed a video file on the desktop that was entitled "Plan". Thinking that it might help them learn something, she played the video file. Dr. Akihiro, in his human form, appeared on the video and started talking about his plan, so Chiyuri quickly told the others to come over and see.

"I have been enlightened," the scientist said. "When I underwent the transformation yesterday, I found out how powerful my new body is. I eventually realize that the bodies of human beings are weak and fragile. No matter what you do to strengthen the body of a person, he can still be killed by a gun with ease. My new body, however, is highly durable and is also capable of healing itself! Its strength, stamina, and skills far surpass that of a normal human being! Therefore, I have decided that having the body of a human is not worth it! Like I said earlier, human bodies are weak and fragile! They die easily! There is no point in having such a useless body!"

He then held up a test tube containing blood-red liquid. "Therefore, I've extracted some of the nue's blood inside me and managed to duplicate it. I have modified it so that one will obtain the DNA of a nue just by coming in contact with it. I've also added the formula of the potential-maximizing pills I created into it, so when one comes in contact with this, they will instantly transform, and the effect is eternal! You will never be able to change back again!

"The reason I'm doing this is for the good of all! Our current bodies are too weak and useless! What is the point of having such a weak body when you can have a powerful one instead? My dream has always been to make people live a better and healthier life, and I believe that I have finally found the solution to this! You will all thank me for being the man who changed life for the better! This world shall become a better place once everyone throws away his or her human bodies and becomes nues!" After saying all those, the video ended.

The four girls couldn't believe what they just heard, and Chiyuri said, "He's insane…"

"Tell me about it…" Yumemi said to her.

"But how is he going to accomplish this?" Nue said. "With just so little of my blood, he shouldn't be able to accomplish such a large scaled task! How is he going to make a large amount of people come in contact with that?"

Suddenly, Mamizou remembered something. "I think I may know how he's going to do it… If he's going to use that thing I saw at the exhibition at Ota Tech that day…"

"He's going to use something from our company?" Yumemi asked her.

Mamizou looked at her and nodded. "Yes. I believe he's going to use that device for creating clouds to get the job done!"

Hearing this, Yumemi said, "Of course! That thing can surely help him accomplish his goal! That device will turn the blood into a gaseous form and spread it throughout the air! If people breathe in the fume or even come in contact with it, they will transform into nues!"

"Uh oh… This is bad… We better go and stop him now before it's too late…" Chiyuri suggested.

"Before that, let's see if he left behind the formula for the serum that will transform people into nues," Yumemi said as she started searching the desk. "If we find the formula, then maybe we can create a cure for it, in case we're too late to stop him."

"So you're going to create something that can reverse the effect? That's a good backup plan!" Mamizou said.

"I think I found it!" Yumemi said after looking through a notebook she found inside the desk's drawer.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

This chapter was supposed to be longer and go past the part above, but the number of words made me think that it's enough for now.

I came up with the idea of having Mamizou change into a statue before I found out that she has that move in Hopeless Masquerade. I originally had her change into a statue of an actual tanuki, but after finding out about it in the game, I made the statue as it is seen there.


	6. The Madness of Science

**Chapter 6  
The Madness of Science**

* * *

Dr. Akihiro knew he should've taken the subway instead of the taxi. The traffic jam was a really bad one, and it just had to be on the day he was going to "make life better for all human beings". He originally shunned the idea of taking the subway, because he didn't like to be compressed inside the train with so many people.

"Are you in a hurry?" the taxi driver asked him.

"Well, not exactly… I've got all day to finish my work, but it would be nice if I can get to my workplace and get things done faster…" the scientist replied.

"Yeah, if it were me, I'd wish the same," the taxi driver said. "Being able to finish your work sooner makes you feel freer for the rest of the day! You said you work at Ota Tech, right? How about this? Since that place is only around the corner up ahead, I'll let you get off here and then walk there. It should only take about ten minutes to walk from here to there. Hope it's not too much for you…"

"Actually, I was thinking of doing that," the scientist told him. Just then, his smartphone rang, so he answered it. "Hello?"

"Hello, Doctor Machida? It's me, Professor Okazaki," said the voice on the other end. "Where are you?"

"I'm on my way to the office," the scientist, not suspecting anything at all, replied.

"I was wondering why you haven't arrived yet. Perhaps you're still feeling under the weather… Are you feeling better now?" Yumemi asked.

"I'm feeling fine now," Dr. Akihiro told her. "I can't wait to get back to work! Unfortunately, the traffic jam is a severe one…"

"It's all right," Yumemi told him. "There's no need to rush, since traffic jams are something we cannot do about.

"Actually, I plan to get off the taxi and walk there," Dr. Akihiro told her. "It's much faster that way."

"What? But it may be dangerous! You should stay in the taxi!" Yumemi suggested.

"What danger can there be? Getting to work sooner is much better, so I'll do it that way. All right! See you at work!" Dr. Akihiro said, and then he ended the phone call.

* * *

After putting her smartphone back into her pocket, Chiyuri asked Yumemi, "Well? Where is he?"

"He's stuck in a traffic jam and has thus decided to walk to Ota Tech…" Yumemi told her and the two girls from Gensokyo. "That would mean he's not far from that place… This is bad… Even if we take the subway there, we won't be able to make it there before him…"

"In that case, Nue and I will fly over to where he is and stop him!" Mamizou suggested. "At top speed, we should be able to get there before he reaches Ota Tech! We will buy you time to ride the subway to get to Ota Tech and hide the cloud-making machine from him."

"That sounds like a good idea!" Yumemi said. "Wait a minute… You both can fly?"

"No time to explain! Just watch! And you better get to the subway now, too!" Mamizou said before she ran to the window with Nue, and then they both jumped outside and flew into the distance as fast as they could.

Yumemi and Chiyuri ran to the window and watched them fly away in disbelief. "Well, that was unexpected…" Yumemi said. "But if you think about it, it may not actually be that unexpected, considering that in Gensokyo… Wait a minute…"

"Let's talk about that later… Let's head over to Ota Tech at once!" Chiyuri told her.

"Right! We should go there at once! C'mon! Let's go!" Yumemi said, and then they quickly headed out of the warehouse.

* * *

After paying the taxi driver and getting off the taxi, Dr. Akihiro got onto the sidewalk and then walked along it. After turning around the corner, the sight of the towering Ota Tech office building was visible in the distance.

When he was about five minutes away from the building, someone called out to him. Dr. Akihiro looked around to see who was calling him, and when he realized that the voice was coming from above, he looked up and was shocked to see Nue and Mamizou flying towards him. "Found you at last!" the former shouted.

Nue and Mamizou landed in front of the scientist to block his way forward, and then the former pointed her trident at him. "Looks like we're on time! This is as far as you go!" Nue said to him. "You must have the serum in that bag, right? Hand it over at once!"

Hearing what she said, Dr. Akihiro realized that she must've went back to the warehouse and learned about what he was going to do from the video. Not willing to give up so easily, the scientist feigned innocence and said, "I don't know what you're talking about! I'm just an ordinary old man on his way to work! Please don't hurt me!"

Not one to fall for his act, Nue brought her trident closer to him and said, "Like that's going to work! This may work if I don't know what you originally look like! Hand over that bag at once!"

Dr. Akihiro took a few steps back and desperately said, "Please! Have mercy! I'm just an old man trying to earn some income for his family! My life is very important to them!" He then took out his wallet. "You may have my money! Please! Spare me!"

"Still trying to feign innocence? Give it up already…" Mamizou said.

Annoyed, Nue got close to the scientist and grabbed him by the collar. "Enough of this! If you won't give it to me, then I'll take it by force!" Suddenly, a police officer pulled her away by the back of her dress. "Hey!"

"What do you think you're doing, young lady?" the police officer asked her. "You're coming to the police station with me for that behavior of yours!"

"Police officer! The person you're supposed to capture is that old man!" Mamizou said to him. "He's planning to change everyone into… monsters! We have to stop him!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" said Dr. Akihiro, still pretending to be innocent. "I just want to go to my office and do my job! How can you accuse me of doing something like that?!"

That was when Mamizou realized what the scientist was doing. "He's feigning innocence in order to get us into trouble when we try to stop him!" she thought.

"Let go of me!" Nue angrily said as she struggled to break free from the police officer's grasp. One of her blue wings speared itself at the police officer's shoulder, creating a small cut that was enough to make him let go of the nue in pain. Nue then charged at Dr. Akihiro, pushed him onto the sidewalk, and pointed her trident at his neck. "ENOUGH! I'M LOSING MY PATIENCE AGAINST YOU!"

"YOU!" The police officer shouted as he grabbed Nue by her shoulders and pulled her back. "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!"

While Nue struggled fiercely against the police officer, Dr. Akihiro stood back up and then opened his briefcase to reveal four test tubes containing blood-red liquid. Holding one up and showing it to Nue, he said, "You're after this, aren't you? Heeheehee! Just try and stop me if you can!" He then opened its cap slightly using his thumb and poured a tiny drop onto his other hand. Nue and Mamizou were both horrified when they saw this.

The scientist laughed as his body started to undergo metamorphosis. Fur started to grow from his body, while the latter's size started to increase, eventually causing his undershirt to be ripped apart, leaving only his overcoat. His face became more and more primate-like, and out from his back sprouted red and blue wings, not to mention a large green snake.

Onlookers were shocked at the sight of the scientist's transformation, and some were even taking pictures of him.

The transformed Dr. Akihiro closed his briefcase and said to Nue and Mamizou, "You want to see what will happen if I use it on other people?" With the test tube still in his hand, he jumped in the direction of the street and then swung the test tube around to make drops of it fly everywhere. All those who came in contact with the drops of red liquid felt pain in their bodies, and they screamed as they started to undergo metamorphosis to become nues.

Sight of this made those who didn't come in contact with the liquid scream and run. The "newly born" nues were horrified by their new appearances, and some of them screamed and ran around in panic and fright.

Dr. Akihiro smiled upon seeing the results, and then he looked in the direction of Ota Tech's office building before jumping from vehicle to vehicle towards it. Snapping out of her state of horror from seeing the people being transformed into nues, Nue flew after Dr. Akihiro and shouted at him, "You're not getting away with this, you madman!"

Dr. Akihiro turned around to see her firing beams from the tip of her wings at him, so he quickly jumped back to avoid it. After landing, he took note of how she was flapping her wings to stay in the air. Thinking that he could do the same, he flapped his wings and slowly lifted himself into the air by doing such. "Heehee! You made me realize that there is more to what I can do!" he said to her. "This makes being a human even more pointless!"

"You wouldn't think the same if you meet see some of the humans from where I come from!" Nue said before firing more beams at him. Dr. Akihiro flew out of the way and then pointed his wings at her to fire his own laser beams, but she also managed to dodge them.

While they were flying around and firing shots at each other, Mamizou got behind Dr. Akihiro and then clapped her hands to create a large amount of smoke. She then flew out of the smoke at a fast speed with a karakasa in her hand. Normally, the snake tail would've saw her coming, but her sudden appearance from the smoke caught the snake by surprise, which was her plan all along, so she managed to give it a good whacking with her ghostly umbrella before he could respond in time. Dr. Akihiro cried in pain from being struck in his tail, and then he was pelted rapidly by Nue's laser beams. Mamizou also gave him a powerful whack to the back of the head and caused him to fall down on top of a truck.

CRASH!

People were running away from the scene of the battle. Even those inside the vehicles got out to run away on foot.

While panic was happening on the street, Yumemi and Chiyuri came out from the staircase leading into the subway and saw Nue and Mamizou engaging in a dogfight with Dr. Akihiro, who had gotten back into the air. "Are we too late?" Chiyuri asked.

Yumemi looked around and noticed some nues among the crowd. "I think so…" Yumemi said. "Looks like we'll have to create a serum for reversing this transformation after all… Quick! To Ota Tech before Dr. Akihiro gets there!" Chiyuri nodded, and then they both quickly ran for the building, which wasn't too far away from the subway.

* * *

charged at Mamizou with his fist pulled back, and the latter quickly transformed into a statue for self-protection. However, the force of the punch sent her crashing through a window, and the tanuki felt great pain in her abdomen when she changed back. "Ow… Not this part again…" she groaned while rubbing her abdomen.

"Unidentified: Blue UFO Invasion of Grief!" Nue shouted as she used a spell card to summon blue UFOs that flew at Dr. Akihiro while firing laser beams nonstop. Dr. Akihiro turned around and used his arms for defense, and at the same time he fired beams from the tip of his wings with precision to take down each of the UFOs until there were none.

Nue took out another spell card and shouted, "Nue Sign: Undefined Darkness!" The card released a large amount of black mist that quickly spread throughout the air and covered a large amount of area. Nue and Dr. Akihiro were both inside the mist, and only the former was able to see clearly.

The mist also went into the building Mamizou was in, so she quickly found herself unable to see anything. She decided to stay still and wait for the mist to clear away by itself. Suddenly, she was hit by something in the front that pushed her backwards. The mist quickly cleared away after that, and Mamizou was seen on the floor with Nue lying on top of her. "How… How did he… catch me…?" Nue wondered.

Dr. Akihiro looked at the two girls inside the building and explained, "My heightened senses allow me to detect you, even if I can't see you! All right, it's about time I get started with what I really want to do! I have no time to mess with the both of you now!" Then he flew towards Ota Tech's office building.

* * *

Yumemi "burst" into a room where several scientists were working on medical products. "Listen, everyone!" she said out loud. "I have a very important task that I need you people to start working on at once!" She then showed them the notebook containing the formula for Dr. Akihiro's "nue" serum. "I need you all to make something that can reverse the effects of this formula!"

"Um… What's the matter, Professor Okazaki?" one of the scientists asked her.

Yumemi looked at him and replied, "If you don't do what I say fast, then there's going to be a big problem! Even all of you here will be in trouble!"

* * *

Chiyuri was looking around in panic in another floor of the office building, looking for the cloud-making machine.

"Where is it? Where is it?" she asked herself as she opened a locker and looked inside. "Not here too… I'm sure they put that thing in this floor… It has to be here somewhere…"

After looking through several more lockers, she eventually found it. "Aha! Here it is!" she said as she took it out. "Better hide it before…" Before she could finish speaking, Dr. Akihiro crashed through the window, freaking her out. "Yikes!"

Fortunately for her, the scientist didn't see anyone when he flew in. He started searching around the place for the cloud-making machine by looking into each of the lockers. Unknown to him, Chiyuri was hiding underneath a desk close to a corner at the far end of the room. "Please don't find me…" she said in her head while trembling in fear. "Please…"

Chiyuri trembled more and more when the sound of the lockers opening and closing came closer and closer to where she was. Fearing that she would get caught soon, she reached into her pocket and took out a futuristic gun to get ready to use it for self-defense. The sound of the lockers being opened and closed eventually stopped, but Chiyuri was still nervous that the scientist was still going to search around in this room.

All of a sudden, the desk she was hiding underneath was quickly picked up and thrown away by Dr. Akihiro. The girl screamed in shock as she quickly crawled backwards while firing energy beams from her gun at Dr. Akihiro, who shrugged them off with ease using his arm. The scientist approached her and swatted the gun out of her hand before forcefully taking the cloud-making machine she was holding in her other arm away.

Ignoring the girl, Dr. Akihiro headed over to the window and then flew out it. Chiyuri was still paralyzed with fear from what happened just now.

* * *

"We're in luck, Professor Okazaki!" a scientist said to Yumemi while holding a test tube containing clear liquid. "We already have the main ingredient of the potential-maximizing pill in its liquid state! All we have to do is add one particular ingredient into it in order to reverse the effect written on this notebook."

"Good! How long will it take?" Yumemi asked him.

The scientist looked at a test tube and said, "With a test tube this size, creating one shouldn't take more than five minutes. Simply dropping the ingredient I talked about into it won't do, however, as you need to forcefully mix them together using a certain process…"

"Then do it now!" Yumemi told him.

* * *

Dr. Akihiro flew to the highest part of the building's rooftop and placed the machine there. After that, he opened his briefcase and then poured the contents of the three test tubes into a larger test tube. After he was done with that, he put that test tube into a slot at the lower part of the machine.

After that, he pressed some of the buttons close to the side of the machine, and when he was done, a timer appeared on a small screen just above the slot containing the test tube. Eight minutes before the serum would be launched into the air in the form of a cloud that would spread throughout various parts of Tokyo…

Suddenly, Nue and Mamizou showed up at the top of the building, and the former shouted at him, "You won't be getting away this, Doctor Machida!"

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED


	7. Cure From Above

**SBS Time!  
****darkcol9: **I forgot… Does that mad scientist have some kind of kin to him?  
**Game2002: **Akemi's his niece.

**Guest: **Wow, this is bad…  
**Game2002: **What's bad?

**Chapter 7  
Cure From Above**

* * *

Nue and Mamizou floated in the air in front of Dr. Akihiro, and the former said to him, "This is as far as you go! We're going to put an end to your plan right here and right now!"

"You will not stop me! You have no reason to stop me too!" Dr. Akihiro told her. "I'm making the life of everyone much better, so by stopping me, you are making yourself an enemy of mankind!"

"You are the enemy of mankind! You have no right to transform people into monsters without their consent! You'll only make things worse!" Mamizou angrily said to him.

"They will be glad once they've experienced firsthand what their new bodies can do! They will all thank me for doing this! They will realize how great of a man I am! They will praise me nonstop!" the scientist loudly said.

"This guy's insane! There's clearly no use reasoning with him anymore! We'll just have to destroy that machine before it does its thing!" Nue said, and then she charged at Dr. Akihiro.

"Wait! We're not supposed to destroy it!" Mamizou called out to her.

Nue trust her trident at Dr. Akihiro, but he caught it and then flung her away. After that, Mamizou sent birds made of blue energy after him. The scientist flew at them and easily destroyed them by swinging his arm at them, and then Mamizou quickly moved out of the way before he rammed into her.

Dr. Akihiro turned around when his snake tail saw Nue heading for the cloud-making machine, so he quickly flew at her and forced her to move out of the way by threatening to ram into her. He then turned back to the machine and stood in front of it with his snake tail coiled around it to protect it. "You're not going to stop this thing from doing its job!" the scientist loudly said to the nue.

"I'd like to see you try your worst protecting it!" Nue said to him while holding a spell card in her hand. "Unidentified: Red UFO of Rage!" The card created several red UFOs that went and flew in circles around the scientist while firing nonstop, so he turned around and used his body to cover the machine.

Mamizou smacked Nue in the back and said to her, "You're not supposed to destroy that machine! We need it to change the people who turned into nues back to normal! Have you forgotten?!"

"Oops… I forgot…" Nue said.

With his body still covering the machine, Dr. Akihiro pointed his wings at the air and fired laser beams nonstop to shoot down each of the UFOs until there were none, and then he got back up and glared at Nue and Mamizou.

* * *

Chiyuri was still trembling when she walked down the hallway. She really thought it was the end of her back there, but she was thankful that Dr. Akihiro wasn't interested in killing or hurting her, but only taking the machine from her. The latter happening wasn't something to be happy about, however.

She came across Yumemi when the former appeared from around a corner, and the latter said to her, "Chiyuri! Did you find the machine?"

"Doctor… Machida… took it…" Chiyuri replied. "I'm sorry… I was too scared and couldn't do anything… My gun didn't scratch him at all…"

"I see… It's all right," Yumemi told her, and then she showed her a test tube containing clear green liquid. "The cure has been created. With this, we can simply change everyone back to normal if Doctor Machida's plan succeeds. Let's head over to the rooftop now!"

Chiyuri nodded, and then they wasted no time in running to an elevator and took it all the way to the highest floor. Once there, they stepped out onto the rooftop and looked around for those three, and then they saw Dr. Akihiro and Nue fighting in the air. "Quick! Let's get to the machine before he spots us!" Yumemi said to her assistant.

They ran around to look for the machine, and then Mamizou called out to them from the higher part of the roof. "Is the serum ready?"

Yumemi held up the serum and said, "It's ready!"

She shouted too loud, so Dr. Akihiro was able to hear her. Seeing the green serum in her hand and the fact that she was making her way to the cloud-making machine, he deduced that she must be holding a cure that would change the victims of his serum back to normal. Not wanting that to happen, the scientist growled angrily before charging at her.

"Hey! Your opponent is me!" Nue shouted at him.

Yumemi and Chiyuri ran as fast as they could for the machine, and the scientist was closing in on them from behind. Suddenly, Mamizou flew at him from the side and smacked him in the head hard with her karakasa to stop him. However, Dr. Akihiro wasn't dazed by the attack very much, so he quickly recovered and grabbed the tanuki by the neck to fling her away.

Yumemi got in front of the machine and was going to reach for the serum placed in the slot, but then Chiyuri shouted for her to watch her back. Yumemi turned around just in time to see Dr. Akihiro firing laser beams from his wings at her. She quickly picked up the machine to run, but when the beams struck the part of the floor behind her feet, small explosions were created that sent her flying forward a bit. The machine and the green serum both flew out of her hands, too.

Acting fast, Chiyuri ran for both the serum and the machine, and she managed to catch them both. When she turned around, she saw Dr. Akihiro swooping down at her. When he knocked her onto the floor, he snatched the machine away from her, but the serum remained in her hand. Dr. Akihiro turned around in the air and said, "So you're working with those two, Professor Okazaki! I see that you have devised a cure to reverse the effect of my serum, too! Too bad you won't get the chance to use it! There are only a few more minutes before the cloud is created, and then everyone will become like me!"

"Why are you doing this, Dr. Akihiro?!" Yumemi shouted at him. "This is not the correct way to make the life of people better! As a scientist who strives to reach that goal, you should know better than anyone else!"

"This new body has made me realize that this is without doubt the best way to make the life of people better!" Dr. Akihiro told her. "Power, flight, durability, and fast-healing wounds! Are these not what people strive for? I am doing this world a huge favor!"

"You're crazy! Nobody wants to give up their charming good looks just to obtain those!" Chiyuri shouted at him. "I'd rather be weak and retain my current cute looks than to become an ugly freak like you!"

"What use is beauty and looks if it does not bring you power and such? You will be thanking me after you…" Before Dr. Akihiro could finish his line, a fly that was flying in front of him "transformed" into Nue and tackled him, pushing him back through the air.

Nue raised her trident over the scientist and then plunged it into the top of his head. Dr. Akihiro cried in agony and dropped the machine, and Nue quickly caught it before it hit the floor. She then turned to Chiyuri and shouted, "Quick! The cure!"

Chiyuri nodded before running over to the machine in Nue's hands to take out the blood-red serum, but then she saw Dr. Akihiro pulling the trident out of his head and throwing it in their direction, so she shouted for Nue to watch out. They quickly jumped out of the way to avoid getting hit by the trident, and then Dr. Akihiro swooped down at Chiyuri and lifted her into the air by the neck. "Ack! Let me go!" she cried.

Dr. Akihiro headed for the edge of the building, obviously planning to drop her onto the street below. Mamizou quickly flew in front of him and clapped her hands to create a large amount of smoke that blocked out his view. Mamizou then flew into the smoke and emerged from the other side with Chiyuri in her arms.

Nue looked at the machine and saw that there was not much time left. "Only fifteen seconds left!" she shouted. "Quick! The cure!

Mamizou placed Chiyuri in front of Nue for her to reach for the blood-red serum. Suddenly, Dr. Akihiro flew out of the smoke at a fast speed and swung his hand upwards at Chiyuri's hand to knock the cure into the air and all the way over the edge.

"NOOOO!" Nue shouted before quickly flying after the cure. She managed to catch the cure, but she was suddenly struck in the head from above by Dr. Akihiro's fist and sent shooting downwards. The nue turned around and looked up to see Dr. Akihiro flying down after her. Acting quick, Nue removed the serum from the machine and replaced it with the cure. Dr. Akihiro caught her by the shoulder immediately after that, and then they both spun horizontally as they fell through the air.

Exactly one second before the machine did its job, Nue was positioned above Dr. Akihiro, and the former had it pointing at him.

"Zero," the machine said. Suddenly, the "turret" at the top of the machine released a powerful green blast that exploded into a burst of smoke upon hitting Dr. Akihiro.

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!

The green smoke, or cloud, that was created quickly grew in size and spread throughout the air, and green dust-like particles also slowly floated down onto the streets. When the people who were transformed into nues came in contact with the dust particles, they slowly returned to their original appearances, much to their surprise and joy.

As for Dr. Akihiro, he found himself no longer able to fly, and his body was slowly changing back to normal. "No! No! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he shouted while watching his fur falling off his skin in horror, and his wings and snake tail both disintegrated into dust-like particles. Just before he fully changed back to normal, he hit the pavement.

CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!

Several people gathered around the fallen scientist, who hadn't fully changed back yet. When finally changed back to normal, he reached his hand into the air and cursed angrily under his breath about his plan being thwarted, and then he passed out.

Nue looked at the result of the green cloud that was still floating in the air and said in excitement, "I… No… We did it! We did it!"

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED

I know… It's not a longer chapter, despite the fact it took a while to come out… I still hope you enjoyed it, though.


	8. Homecoming Girls

**Final Chapter  
Homecoming Girls**

* * *

The incident caused by Dr. Akihiro was broadcasted throughout the televisions of Tokyo. Maribel and Renko were in the former's house, where they were seeing the live broadcast.

"The culprit of this incident, Doctor Akihiro Machida, has been apprehended and will be judged for his crime against humanity after recuperating at the hospital," the news reporter said. On the television, Dr. Akihiro was shown lying on a stretcher and being taken into an ambulance.

"Can't believe that a brilliant scientist like Doctor Machida would do such a thing… Changing people into monsters…" Renko said in disbelief.

"I thought he was someone to look up to, but I guess it's not true anymore…" Maribel said.

"And now, we shall interview the people who put a stop to his plan," the news reporter said, and then the camera shifted over to Nue, Mamizou, Yumemi, and Chiyuri. The sight of the former two surprised Maribel and Renko.

Various news reporters crowded around them and bombarded them with questions.

"What is your name?"

"How did you stop Doctor Machida?"

"Can you please tell us everything from beginning to end?"

"People reported seeing you two flying in the air. Is this true?"

"Is that trident your weapon of choice?"

Because they were being questioned by several people at once, Nue and Mamizou were very nervous and couldn't reply properly at all. Nue said to Mamizou, "What… What do we do…?"

"Get out of here right away?" Mamizou suggested. "I don't like it like this… It's going to be really complicated trying to explain to them everything, especially what we are and where we come from…"

"How do we get out of here?" Nue asked.

"Like this!" Mamizou said, and then she clapped her hands to create a large amount of smoke that blocked out everyone's view.

When the smoke finally dissipated and everyone stopped coughing, Nue and Mamizou were nowhere in sight. The crowd looked around in confusion for the whereabouts of those two, but then Yumemi grabbed their attentions. "Everyone! You can feel free to ask me questions instead!" she loudly said. "I'm willing to answer whatever you ask me!" Immediately, the reporters bombarded her with questions.

While being questioned, Yumemi said in her head, "The two of you are definitely from Gensokyo, and I know you wouldn't want to expose the existence of that place to the outside. Good luck going back to your homeland! Your secret is safe with me! Wait a minute… Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something…?"

* * *

Nue and Mamizou stepped out from the inn they stayed in, and the latter asked the former, "Got everything?"

"Yep," Nue replied with a nod.

"Then let's go," Mamizou said. "We've aroused too much attention already. We should return to Gensokyo before the people here recognize us." With that, they both disguised themselves as birds and then took off into the air. Nue hid behind the illusion of a pigeon, while Mamizou transformed into an eagle in order to carry her luggage.

As they soared through the air, Nue looked down and said, "It was fun while it lasted, but things really didn't turn out pleasant in the end… Still, I'm glad that I managed to experience firsthand the fun things of the outside world!"

"There's a lot more to the outside world than you think, but touring the entire world is something that will take a really long time to finish," Mamizou told her.

"Hope we can have the opportunity to do that someday!" Nue happily said, and then she looked up ahead. It's nice to be able to go back home too! Nothing beats the comfort of staying in your own, cozy house!

Mamizou nodded. "Yep! Even if Gensokyo isn't my birthplace, it is still a comfortable place to live in!"

"I can't wait to tell the others about what happened out here! They're totally not going to believe me, but I'm going to make them believe me no matter what!" Nue said.

"I'm sure they will believe you," Mamizou said to her. "Anything can happen in Gensokyo, so I'm sure they'll believe everything that happened in the outside world too!"

"Heheh! The thought of this makes me excited!" Nue said, and then she punched the air. "Gensokyo! We're coming home!

* * *

**Ending Theme  
Encounter of Destiny  
(vocal remix of UFO Romance in the Night Sky, by Sound Holic)**

Story by  
Game2002

Plot based on the movie The Amazing-Spider Man

Dr. Akihiro is owned by me

Isami is owned by The Drinking Party

All other named characters are owned by ZUN

All other unnamed characters are irrelevant regarding who owns them

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**Theme Ends**

* * *

Nue and Mamizou were getting closer and closer to the shrine that served as the entrance to Gensokyo.

The whole incident made Nue completely forgot about one thing. The iPhone-sized object… It was inside her bag…

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TO BE CONTINUED

in

CAPTAIN MURASA

The third "build-up" story

* * *

And thus the end of another story… I hope you enjoyed this story! As you can tell from the title of the next story, Minamitsu will be the main character. How is the next story related to this one? You'll see…

And yes, the "staff roll" theme is supposed to play until the end before you continue to the short epilogue, if that's considered one…

Anyway, see you in the next story!

God bless you all!


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